One Hit Wonder
by Svinorita
Summary: After Jack grows weary of the same old routine in Halloween Town, Sally devises a plan to cheer him and everybody else up. However, Dr. Finkelstein's latest creation is hatching an ambitious plot of her own and she's not about to let anyone stop her from getting what she wants! Now the question is who will make it to next Halloween...
1. Supernatural Delight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hello dear readers! I am really looking forward to writing this new story but before I begin, I'd like to say a few things first…**

 **I joined FanFiction almost a year ago and in that time, I have written quite a few stories for "Inside Out." That movie had a profound impact on my life and I have become exceptionally fond of one of the characters (those of you who have checked my profile before, know which character I am referring to and I even have his image as my profile picture :)**

 **But as much as I love the movie "Inside Out" I have been interested in trying to write for some other movies for a while now. Then a few weeks ago, I stumbled across "The Nightmare Before Christmas" by chance and I rediscovered just how much I love this movie all over again! I actually remember watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" when I was younger and I am still intrigued by the characters and songs just as much now as I was back then. So you could say that this movie has always been quite special to me!**

 **I still think it is Tim Burton's finest work and the thing that really moved me about it was how all those monsters (with the exception of** _ **Oogie Boogie**_ **of course!) meant well by everyone, but they were really misunderstood. Sometimes even when we try to do something for others with the best of intentions, it doesn't always turn out the way we envisioned and in that sense, I think that many of us can relate to Jack Skellington at least now and then in our lives…**

 **Anyway, I ended up re-watching the movie 3 times in the space of two weeks and I immediately started thinking that it would be fun to try writing some FanFiction for it! I believe this movie has endless potential when it comes to story ideas and I hope at least some of you enjoy my first attempt at writing a "Nightmare Before Christmas" Fanfic :)**

 **I have a few other ideas I am seriously considering writing for this movie and depending on how this one is received, I'll see whether they'll come to fruition or not. For now, I really hope that I won't end up like the title of this story…a one hit wonder!**

 **One more thing before I get started…**

 **I like to create my own cover images for my stories whenever I get the opportunity by using various props and themes that reflect the content of the story or the movie. In this case, my mom also happens to be a big fan of this movie so she agreed to wear the Halloween mask and pose for this image!**

 **That's all for now guys! I hope you enjoy the story :)**

 **Svinorita.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Supernatural Delight.**

It was a cold, gloomy morning in Halloween Town. A thick shroud of fog covered the ground and obscured everything so that only the tops of the tallest buildings in town were barely visible through the haze. The sun was struggling to penetrate through the clouds overhead and melt the ghostly layer of frost coating the ground and lifeless trees, further adding to the eerie atmosphere of the place.

In other words, it was shaping up to be another dark and beautiful day in Halloween Town!

Up in his observatory, Dr. Finkelstein was gazing out his bedroom window at the cold murk outside and silently wishing that he was residing somewhere a little warmer. In fact the old scientist woke up with the same longing every day of his life because in Halloween Town, every morning was pretty much just like today and it made the arthritis in his joints almost unbearable!

And as if that wasn't bad enough, that wretched woman, his "Precious Jewel" was taking her sweet time in bringing him his pain-relief medicine lately!

Dr. Finkelstein grumbled under his breath in frustration as he turned his wheelchair away from the window and called her name for the fourth time this morning. He stared at the heavy metallic door with mounting irritation as he waited for a response from Jewel, only to be met once again with the sound of ominous silence and the painful creaking of his arthritic joints…

XXX

Meanwhile Jewel was still in her room, busily preparing some medicine for her "tormentor." She had just finished scraping some slug slime off her windowsill and added it into her cauldron along with some machine oil and a multitude of other spine-chilling ingredients.

Jewel hummed to herself as she stirred the mixture with a long wooden spoon. She picked up a small bottle of WD-40 and glanced at the label on the back briefly before shrugging her shoulders and pouring a generous amount of the liquid into the mixture.

" _It's worth a try. Maybe those squeaky old joints won't squeak as much after this!"_ Jewel thought to herself with a sly smile.

For the past month now, Jewel had been deliberately ignoring Dr. Finkelstein when he called for her to bring him his medicine or something to eat. She had learned that if she ignored him for long enough, the old fool would work himself into such a tiring state of bother, that he would end up falling asleep shortly afterwards.

And that gave Jewel more time to plan how she intended to escape from his nasty clutches! After all, if his previous creation; that useless ragdoll named Sally managed to escape and find her happily ever after, Jewel felt that _she_ was just as entitled to be free and become the master of her own destiny!

Sure, she had willingly obeyed her creator's every whim and demand at first. But over time as her sense of identity and individuality developed, Jewel found herself growing increasingly tired of being Dr. Finkelstein's personal slave!

After all, Dr. "Fickle Stain" had given her half of his own brain when he had created her! And the greatest irony of it all was that the old fool never even realized that he had given her the _smarter_ half…

As a result, Jewel gradually convinced herself that she was born to rule! In her mind, she deserved to be a queen, not a servant! She didn't need Dr. Finkelstein anymore, in fact she never did! He was the one who needed her to take care of him, since his disability meant that he couldn't do much without her assistance.

He was nothing more than a burden to her! So Jewel began secretly plotting against her creator and after many months, she believed that she had come up with the perfect plan to rid herself of that needy old man once and for all…

" _And perhaps I can permanently knock the stuffing out of Sally and get rid of Jack Skellington while I'm at it!"_ Jewel mused as she finished preparing Dr. Finkelstein's medicine with a sinister smile.

She remembered hearing about Jack's adventures in Christmas Town last year during one of the town hall meetings and it gave her an idea.

What if she could lure the Pumpkin King back to the holiday doors in the woods and trap him in one of the other holiday worlds for good?

" _Christmas Town would do just fine!"_ Jewel decided with a wicked chuckle. _"Since Jack liked it there so much the first time, maybe he should stay there permanently! I bet Sandy Claws could use another helper! Yes! I'll make sure Jack goes to Christmas Town again and then I'll lock the door behind him and throw away the key!"_

What a treat that would be! With Jack Skellington out of the way, Jewel pictured herself as the new ruler of Halloween Town. She would become the queen and then everyone would bow to her and obey her for a change!

Jewel let out an evil laugh as she picked up her makeup mirror and admired her reflection. _"Once I'm queen of this town, I'll make that fat double-faced Mayor my personal servant! He looks dumb enough to manipulate without too much trouble! Then it will be time for me to put my feet up and give the orders while someone else tends to my every want and desire!"_

Jewel felt she had almost everything she needed to start putting her plan into motion. There was only one thing missing. She still needed to find a way to resurrect a certain monster from the dead…

Just then, she heard Dr. Finkelstein's irritating voice through the door as he called out to her again. "My Precious Jewel! Is my medicine ready yet?!"

Jewel struggled to keep the frustration out of her voice and responded as sweetly as she could, "Coming right up Master!"

There was a moment's pause, before Dr. Finkelstein started ranting angrily. "Well it's about time, you ungrateful woman! I've been in pain here for hours! After all I've done for you! You're just another disappointment like that wretched Sally!"

Jewel sighed as she poured the mixture she had prepared into a bowl and placed it on a tray before heading out her room.

" _Just you wait…you're in for one nasty shock old man!"_ She thought to herself smugly as she entered Dr. Finkelstein's room and went about tending to his needs. _"I promise you that you'll be in a lot more pain very soon…"_

But Jewel kept her wicked thoughts to herself as she put on a sweet smile and served her master as loyally as always.

XXX

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Jack Skellington was getting ready to start his day. The king of Halloween Town gave a hearty yawn and stretched his skeletal arms over his head as he walked up to his bedroom window. After taking a moment to admire the gloomy view, he opened his window wide and stood with his eyes closed as he allowed the cold morning chill to wash over his bones.

All of a sudden, Jack thought he heard the sound of soft footsteps coming from behind him. He opened his eyes and turned around just as Sally wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him lovingly.

The Pumpkin King smiled fondly at his beloved and kissed her hand lightly. "Good morning my love." He whispered softly.

Sally smiled back at him before glancing out the window and replying in a sleepy voice, "It sure is a beautiful morning, isn't it darling?"

Jack sighed glumly and turned away from the window. "Actually, it's just another typical, boring morning like it is every day in this town!"

Jack's voice became laced with frustration as he exclaimed, "It's always the same thing day after day! I feel like this town is going nowhere…"

"Oh Jack my darling!" Sally was taken aback by the Pumpkin King's unexpected outburst. She took a deep breath and ventured hesitantly, "What's wrong? You sound so gloomy…"

Sally trailed off as Jack turned around and gazed at her with unmistakable sorrow in his deep black eye sockets. "Don't you see Sally? This town only becomes truly alive for one night every year; on Halloween! We all get a brief chance to leave this world and scare humans during Halloween before it's all over for another year!"

Jack made a bony fist with one hand and dropped his gaze to the floor. "It's just that this town feels like a one hit wonder to me…"

Sally remained silent as the weight of Jack's words settled over her. She desperately wanted to reassure him, but she didn't know what she could say to make him feel better…

Suddenly she heard Jack chuckling softly, like he was remembering a fond memory and Sally glanced over at him curiously.

The Pumpkin King was shaking his head absently. There was a seemingly distant look in his eye sockets as he said, "When I visited Christmas Town last year, there was so much going on! It was wonderful! There was music and color everywhere Sally! There were these odd little people wearing strange looking hats and outfits, and some of them were making slow-men out of that white stuff on the ground…"

Sally placed a hand gently on Jack's bony shoulder. Her voice was full of sympathy and understanding as she reminded him, "But Jack dear, don't forget that Christmas is only once a year too!"

"I know that my love!" Jack said with exasperation.

He turned around and gripped her hands firmly, but not tightly enough to cause her any discomfort as he emphasized, "It's just that everyone seems to have such fond memories of Christmas time! People talk about it for days afterwards. They exchange stories about the presents they received, the songs they sang and the food they ate!"

Jack sighed and released Sally's hands from his bony grip. He shook his head and stated grimly, "Meanwhile, what do we get?! Humans scream when they catch sight of us and they always villainize us in the stories they tell their children! Sometimes when their kids go trick-or-treating, many of them end up eating too much candy and get stomach aches while the next day, angry parents all over the world curse Halloween because of it!"

Sally slowly took the Pumpkin King's bony fingers in her soft hands. Then she spoke in a gentle voice as she tried to reassure him. "Oh my darling Jack! I wish you could see this town through _my_ eyes! Ever since I became your wife, every day feels like a note in a wonderful symphony. To me, this town is a supernatural delight…"

Sally looked down shyly before adding in a whisper, "And you are the most delightful part of it all!"

Jack smiled at her fondly. He squeezed her hand gently with his skeletal fingers and exclaimed, "Oh my sweet, beautiful Sally! What would I do without you?!"

Suddenly a thoughtful expression appeared on Jack's face. "As a matter of fact, what can I do for you right now…?" He offered eagerly.

Sally gave him a hopeful smile and stroked his arm lovingly. "Well, how about we go for a nice walk through town together? We could stop by at Mrs. Vampire's house along the way. I finished repairing her favorite cloak last night after her children accidentally ripped it during one of their games and now I need to take it back to her."

Jack ran his bony fingers through Sally's long reddish-brown hair affectionately. "Sure, I'd be delighted to accompany you my love." He agreed happily.

He helped Sally gather the cloak and fold it neatly into a box. Then the Pumpkin King summoned his loyal ghost dog; Zero to his side before following Sally out into the chilly morning air.

As Jack and Sally were passing by Dr. Finkelstein's home a short time later, they were unaware that Jewel was watching them from her window.

" _That's right. You two should enjoy the few days you have left in this world…"_ She thought to herself with a sinister smile.

" _Because pretty soon I am going to send you both to oblivion where you belong and then this town will be mine!"_

To Be Continued…


	2. Marie Imnotdeadyet

**Chapter 2 – Marie Imnotdeadyet.**

The days passed by monotonously in Halloween Town. Each morning was just as dark and gloomy as the day before with the only real variation being the temperature. Now that it was mid-December, it was growing colder with each passing day and although Halloween Town rarely received any snowfall even this late in the year, the residents _did_ notice the frost was taking longer to melt away in the mornings and the fog seemed thicker than usual.

Despite these small changes that heralded the onset of winter, the monstrous inhabitants that called Halloween Town home went about their daily routines without complaining too much.

However for one frail old scientist, the colder temperatures succeeded in adding to his already hefty list of health complications. Poor Dr. Finkelstein had developed a nasty cold on top of his arthritis and as a result, he was making Jewel exhausted with his constant demands for clean handkerchiefs and different kinds of medicine.

As Jewel struggled to cope with her creator's increasing demands for care and attention, her own health began to suffer both physically and emotionally. Within days, she was starting to feel under the weather herself and her contempt for her creator grew with every new demand he made of her.

To make things worse, Dr. Finkelstein never allowed her to rest for long despite the fact that she was exhausted and suffering from the same cold as him!

It seemed that no matter how much attention she devoted to him, it was never enough and he always found something else he needed from her…

This morning was no exception and Jewel woke up with a groan as she heard that needy old duckbill calling to her in a voice that was dripping with self-pity. "Oh Precious Jewel! Bring me a clean handkerchief and some chamomile tea!"

Jewel heard a phlegmy cough through the door followed by a crude insult. "You've become so lazy and selfish lately! You let me, a poor old man suffer alone for hours before you respond to my requests for help! Don't forget that you owe your life to me! You wouldn't even exist right now if it wasn't for me…"

Jewel threw off her quilt and leapt out of bed in a rage.

"That does it! Today I'm going to give you a piece of my mind you old fool!" She vowed under her breath furiously.

Jewel felt her anger rising and she clenched her fists as she remembered how the young monster children taunted her every time she passed through the town center on her way to pick up supplies at the market. The kids, mainly consisting of young witches and Mrs. Vampire's three rambunctious sons, would follow her from a distance and sing loudly enough for everyone in the area to hear:

" _Look out! Look out!_

 _Here comes Ms. PJ and isn't she a sight?_

 _She's always giving us a fright!_

 _She has a very silly name and the old Doctor is to blame!_

 _He calls her his Precious Jewel but we shorten it to PJ,_

 _And what does PJ stand for?_

 _Pajamas we say and then we run away!_

 _So look out everybody!_

 _The scary lady is coming this way!"_

Jewel marched purposefully into Dr. Finkelstein's room a few minutes later carrying a cup of tea and a clean handkerchief.

She stopped in front of his wheelchair and narrowed her eye at her creator reproachfully. Then she took a deep breath and stated in a dangerously level tone, "Before I give you this tea and handkerchief, there's something we need to discuss first…"

"No! You've forgotten who the boss around here is!" Dr. Finkelstein interrupted argumentatively.

He pointed at the tea and handkerchief that Jewel was holding just out of his reach and demanded sternly, "Give me my tea first! I've been calling to you for over an hour! What took you so long?! I was starting to think that you were deaf or perhaps even dead!"

Jewel turned so that she was standing side-on to Dr. Finkelstein and deliberately raised the cup of tea even higher out of his reach.

"If you want your tea, you're going to have to listen to me first." Jewel said calmly.

"Fine! What do you want that's so important it can't wait?!" Dr. Finkelstein snapped irritably.

Jewel felt a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth. She turned her nose up at her creator's impatient gaze and explained matter-of-factly, "From this moment on, I will no longer be responding to the name _Precious Jewel!_ She is dead, you hear me?! Gone forever!"

Jewel scrunched up her face in disgust as she found herself haunted once again by the mocking voices of those kids echoing around inside her head, teasing her incessantly with their nasty little song. "What kind of stupid name is that anyway?! Whenever I go out into town, everyone ridicules me because of it!"

Dr. Finkelstein was staring at his creation with open-mouthed shock. "Bu-but I thought you liked it my dear! I chose that name for you because I wanted everyone to know how much you mean to me!"

"You're my special girl…" He uttered in a small voice.

"No! I'm **not** your special girl!" Jewel screamed in outrage.

Dr. Finkelstein gasped and shrank back in his wheelchair at the harshness in his creation's voice.

She shot an accusing glare at the old man and continued acidly. "I'm nothing more than your slave and that's all I ever have been to you! Well from now on if you want something, you're going to address me as _Marie!"_

Dr. Finkelstein snorted in bemusement. He sat up a little straighter in his wheelchair and challenged her in a mocking tone, "And how is that name better than Precious Jewel?! It's so bland and unimaginative…"

Jewel/Marie held her head high with pride. "Well **I** like it! And if you don't start calling me Marie from now on, you can get your own stuff because I won't answer to anything else!"

"Well, well! Aren't we touchy today?! I don't suppose you want a surname too?!" Dr. Finkelstein maneuvered his wheelchair in front of "Marie" and waved his fist in her face.

"Because if you do, you're not having Finkelstein! You're way too disrespectful and brazen for that!" He declared stubbornly.

Marie rolled her eyes and waved off his threat dismissively. "Oh please! I wouldn't want your surname if you begged me to use it! I'm going to get my own…"

Jewel/Marie trailed off and thought carefully for a moment. She had been caught a little off guard in that she hadn't considered the possibility of a surname yet! But she wasn't about to give Dr. Finkelstein the chance the gloat about it and after thinking it through for a few seconds, an idea suddenly came to her.

Since _"Jewel"_ was dead as of today and _"Marie"_ was born, she blurted out the first thing that came into her mind. "Just call me Marie Imnotdeadyet!"

Dr. Finkelstein slapped his forehead with his palm. "Wow! What are you doing to my poor brain cells woman?! I wonder how many you've killed off since we started having this pointless conversation…" He grumbled to himself.

Finally, the Doctor gave a deep sigh of resignation and glanced at his creation through narrowed eyes. "It sounds like you haven't thought this through very carefully my dear…"

Marie shrugged. Her voice was full of pride as she stated, "Well it's my new name and I don't care whether you like it or not, because **I** do!"

"Hmm…" Dr. Finkelstein scratched his chin thoughtfully as he recalled something he had read or heard a long time ago about someone else named Marie…

Finally, he decided to voice his thoughts on the subject with his creation. "You know, all of this reminds me of another Marie from long ago…"

"What?! Don't tell me that you had another slave named Marie before!" Jewel/Marie exclaimed in disbelief.

Dr. Finkelstein chuckled as the memory became clearer and he was able to recall the details properly. "No! Actually she was a French queen and her name was Marie Antoinette!"

Jewel/Marie let out a long sigh of relief. "Wow! I named myself after royalty! How fitting…"

Feeling incredibly pleased with her new name, Marie slipped back into her role of caretaker with ease as she handed Dr. Finkelstein his tea and handkerchief. She waited loyally until her creator finished drinking his brew, then she gently slid a small cushion between his back and his wheelchair to help soothe the stiffness in his spine.

As soon as she felt sure Dr. Finkelstein was feeling satisfied with the level of care and attention she had given him, Marie stood in front of him and put on her sweetest smile before venturing, "Okay, now that's been settled, I have another thing I'd like to speak to you about…"

Dr. Finkelstein made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. "There's more?!"

Marie acted like she neither heard nor cared about his protest. Instead her smile grew even broader as she stated proudly, "I'm sure you know that my birthday is coming up next week…"

"Of course! How could I possibly forget?! I created you remember!" Dr. Finkelstein interrupted sarcastically. He gave a deep sigh and turned his gaze away from his creation as he mumbled under his breath, "My memory has always served me well, unlike some of my other body parts…"

The Doctor took a moment to regain his composure before turning around to face Marie once more. "So what would you like for your birthday my dear? Some more _Precious Jewels_ perhaps…?"

Dr. Finkelstein chuckled teasingly. "Would you like some new earrings or bracelets? How about a new necklace or two…"

"No! Do you really think I'm that shallow?! I already have plenty of those!" Marie gasped indignantly. But even as she spoke, she reached up with her right hand and instinctively caressed the ruby necklace she always wore before trailing her fingers along the sparkly ruby bracelet around her left wrist as if she needed to reassure herself that her beloved jewelry was still there.

Dr. Finkelstein was still chuckling to himself softly and Marie narrowed her eyes at him reproachfully. "Not everything that glitters is gold you know!"

Marie took a deep breath and tried to push her irritation aside. In order for her secret plan to work, she needed this obnoxious old fool's help and that meant she had to _charm_ him, not offend him!

Marie's expression turned hopeful and she fluttered her eyelashes at her creator flirtatiously. She smiled sweetly and hinted, "But I _do_ have something shiny in mind for my birthday present. Something I can admire and see my reflection in…"

"So you want a bigger mirror then?" Dr. Finkelstein interrupted flatly.

Marie rolled her eyes and went on as patiently as she could. "No. Actually, I want something that would make my life a lot easier. It would make my cooking time more efficient and maybe even reduce the amount of time it takes to prepare your medication…"

"So I guess you want a new set of knives then?" Dr. Finkelstein speculated brashly.

"Would you please let me finish?!" Marie snapped impatiently. "At this rate, my birthday will have come and gone and I won't receive my present if you keep interrupting me!"

Dr. Finkelstein raised his fingers to his mouth and made the classic _"My lips are sealed"_ gesture. Then he looked at Marie with expectation and indicated with his hand that he wanted her to continue.

Marie adopted a confident stance and pretended to inspect the nails on her left hand casually as she announced, "I want my very own personalized guillotine for my birthday!"

Dr. Finkelstein had taken off his glasses while Marie was speaking in order to clean them. However, as soon as he heard her request, the old scientist was so shocked that his glasses slipped out of his hands and clattered to the floor beside his wheelchair.

"What's on your mind woman?! Are you planning on getting rid of me once and for all?!" Dr. Finkelstein demanded nervously.

Marie stooped down and picked up the Doctor's glasses from the floor gracefully. Then she approached him and gently brushed his cheek with her fingers as she replaced them on his face.

"Now why would I want to do something like that?" Marie asked innocently. She placed her right hand on Dr. Finkelstein's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile before adding, "You are my creator! Without you, I would be nothing! I owe you my very life!"

This seemed to calm the old Doctor down a great deal and with her hand still resting on his shoulder, Marie could feel his heartbeat slowly returning to normal as his initial fright subsided.

She waited a few more seconds before explaining in a soothing voice, "I just thought that if I had my own guillotine, I could chop herbs and vegetables so much more efficiently. Think about it, I could slice through multiple ingredients instantly with a single pull of the chord!"

Marie sighed dreamily. "I'm not talking about a full-size guillotine of course! I would like a smaller one that could fit inside my room so I can use it whenever the need arises. I think it would literally cut my cooking and preparation time in half! Then I could deliver your meals and medicine to you much quicker."

Marie deliberately dropped her gaze to the floor. Then she spoke in a voice that was barely more than a whisper, "This idea came to me a few days ago while I was preparing your dinner and I've developed quite a fascination with guillotines ever since…"

Dr. Finkelstein had been staring at his creation with a quizzical expression the whole time she had been speaking. Without warning, the old man suddenly burst into laughter as he fully processed everything she had just said to him.

Marie put her hands on her hips and glared at her creator irritably. "Hey! What's so funny?! I was trying to think of a present that could be beneficial for both of us and you're laughing in my face!"

Dr. Finkelstein had a pretty disturbing laugh under normal circumstances, but now he truly sounded like a "mad scientist" as his maniacal cackling filled the room.

When he finally managed to pull himself together so that he could speak again, he looked up at his baffled creation and wheezed, "I'm not laughing at you my Precious Je-I mean Marie! It's just that I remembered your namesake; Marie Antoinette, had a bit of a _thing_ for guillotines too!"

"What do you mean she had a _thing_ for guillotines?! Was she fascinated with them as well?" Marie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I wouldn't quite call it a _fascination_ my dear!" Dr. Finkelstein said with a diabolical chuckle. He took a deep breath and stated informally, "Let's just say that the _thing_ she had for guillotines was her head!"

Marie shuddered upon hearing this. But almost immediately, a smug thought flashed through her mind and she couldn't help smiling to herself. _"Well you old fool, it won't be_ _my_ _head under the guillotine, but hopefully yours and maybe some other residents' in this town…"_

But of course, Marie kept these wicked thoughts to herself. Instead, she batted her eyelashes at her creator innocently and asked in a sweet voice, "So can you make one for me? Please! It would mean an awful lot to me if you do!"

Dr. Finkelstein nodded in agreement. "Well I suppose I could, if you reckon it will be beneficial for both of us…"

He smiled at Marie fondly and declared, "I'll tell you what. If it means so much to you, then I promise that I will make the best guillotine you ever laid eyes on my dear!"

"Oh thank you so much Master!" Marie exclaimed, reaching down and embracing her creator gratefully.

Dr. Finkelstein closed his eyes and made the most of this rare display of affection from his creation. If only he knew the sinister plans Marie had in store for him, maybe he wouldn't have been so compliant about making her birthday present…

XXX

Dr. Finkelstein spent the next few days in his lab, busily tinkering away at Marie's present. As usual, whenever the old scientist was preoccupied with a new project, it meant that he was less demanding of Marie and pretty much left her to her own devices in the meantime.

This is exactly what Marie had been hoping for and while the Doctor was working in his lab, she had more time to focus on her own wicked plans!

Marie located an old sewing box under her bed that Sally had left behind from her time as Dr. Finkelstein's slave and she carefully brought it out now.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and tenderly caressed the smooth polished surface of the box with one hand as she whispered, "It won't be long now my Chosen One! Soon you will be resurrected and I will make sure you have your revenge on all those who have wronged you!"

Marie kissed the top of the box and stashed it away under the bed once more for safe keeping. Then she rubbed her hands together in anticipation and smiled wickedly. _"Plan B_ is already under way and hopefully my guillotine will be ready by tomorrow! After all, I need to have a backup plan in case _Plan A_ fails to work!"

XXX

The next morning, Marie woke up full of expectation. She didn't even wait for Dr. Finkelstein to order her to bring him his breakfast and medicine like he usually did. Instead she prepared everything early for a change and hurried off to his room without delay!

But she was quite surprised to find her creator waiting by the door outside his room as she arrived with his breakfast. As soon as he saw her approaching, Dr. Finkelstein smiled at her in welcome and before Marie could say anything, he turned his wheelchair in the direction of his lab and motioned to her to follow him with a wave of his arm.

"Come with me my dear! My breakfast can wait for now. I have a surprise for you…" The Doctor announced proudly.

Marie placed the serving tray she had been carrying on a nearby shelf and eagerly followed her creator into his lab.

" _Perfect! He must have finished making my guillotine! I can't wait to see it!"_ Marie thought to herself with mounting excitement as she entered the Doctor's lab and closed the door behind her.

Dr. Finkelstein had already positioned his wheelchair next to a sizeable object covered with a sheet in the corner in the room. Marie's heart started to beat fast with anticipation as she came up beside her creator. She held her breath as she watched him put one hand on the sheet in preparation to unveil her present.

The Doctor's voice sounded a little giddy with pride as he gripped the sheet tighter and said, "I hope you like your present my dear. I really put my heart and soul into making it for you!"

Marie almost forgot to breathe as Dr. Finkelstein tugged the sheet away with one smooth motion to reveal the guillotine of her dreams.

And what a guillotine it was! Marie had never seen anything more beautiful in her life! She literally couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she slowly walked around her birthday present and let her eyes take in every little detail of this lethal masterpiece…

It was about half the size of a conventional guillotine, although still large enough to slice through a pumpkin (or a head for that matter!) with ease. The blade was shinier than anything Marie had ever seen, the razor-sharp cutting edge glinting hypnotically as though it were begging Marie to give it something to slice right now. The wooden frame was painted "shocking pink" (which happened to be her favorite color!) and the silver execution chord at the back was encrusted with sparkly rubies and diamonds.

Marie trailed her hand over the top of the blade adoringly as she came to a stop next to Dr. Finkelstein. Her eyes were filled with pure admiration as she turned to her creator and whispered, "It's so beautiful Doctor! It's even better than I imagined…"

Dr. Finkelstein nodded proudly and suggested, "Would you like to try it out my dear? What would you like to chop first? A cucumber or a carrot maybe…"

Marie laughed evilly. "Actually, a pumpkin was more what I had in mind…"

She sighed and gave Dr. Finkelstein an appreciative smile. "But not today. Right now I just want to admire it!"

Marie reached down and rubbed Dr. Finkelstein on the back softly. "This is the best present ever! Thank you for making it for me Master!"

"It was my pleasure my dear! You mean so much to me, whether you choose to believe that or not, and I just wanted to make you happy." Dr. Finkelstein said truthfully. He took Marie's hand in his and squeezed it affectionately.

But Marie was too busy admiring her guillotine to take much notice of her creator at the moment.

"You know what? I love my present so much that I am seriously considering giving her a name!" Marie whispered dreamily. She thought carefully for a few seconds and a huge smile crept across her face as she announced, "I think I'll call her Joanne…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I know this chapter was focusing only on Jewel/Marie and Dr. Finkelstein, but I promise we'll see more of Jack and Sally (as well as other characters) in the next one!**

 **Actually speaking of Jewel/Marie and Dr. Finkelstein, I have to admit that I've become rather fond of both of them since I started writing this story. I never really thought that much of them before, but I am quickly finding out that they are surprisingly fun and interesting characters to write about! (They remind me a little of a bickering old couple with a seriously messed up love/hate type of relationship! Poor Dr. Finkelstein. He just can't get it right with his creations can he? First Sally rebels against him and now Jewe-I mean Marie Imnotdeadyet…)**

 **I would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has been reading this story so far! I really want to write stories for this movie and I am pleased with the response I've had for this story so far :)**

 **I also want to give a special thank you to** _ **Hannah29K9,**_ _ **RoseEmbers99,**_ _ **Tripledent**_ **and** _ **Chrys96**_ **for the wonderful reviews and support :)**

 **Thanks again to everyone and I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!**

 **Svinorita.**


	3. Wrestling Snakes & Dancing Under Ladders

**Chapter 3 – Wrestling Snakes and Dancing Under Ladders.**

Sally silently climbed the stairs leading to Jack's room, carrying a steaming cup of tea in one hand. As she neared the top of the spiral staircase of the tower that extended from the side of the Pumpkin King's house, she dared to hope that this morning might be different than the past few weeks.

Lately, Jack had become so withdrawn and reserved that he barely seemed to notice her presence whenever she was around him. Sally had never known Jack to be depressed before. Certainly for as long as she had known him, she recalled seeing the Pumpkin King truly upset only once. It was during that night in the Graveyard at the end of last Halloween when she had been hiding from Dr. Finkelstein, that Sally remembered seeing Jack looking desolate as he walked off aimlessly into the Hinterlands.

Apart from that one time, Sally had always considered Jack to be exceptionally upbeat, with an enthusiastic approach to everything he did. But Sally could no longer deny that Jack was slipping into a state of depression _right now._ Lately he just wasn't his usual curious, fun-loving self and it was tearing her apart to see him like this!

Sally wanted to help her beloved friend more than anything. But no matter how much she pleaded with him, Jack refused to talk to her about what was troubling him so deeply.

" _But maybe today will be more promising?"_ Sally thought to herself as she climbed the last few steps with a mixture of apprehension and dread. _"Maybe today I can cheer him up by reminding him of how wonderful our world really is…"_

Unbeknownst to Jack, Sally had been secretly planning something that she hoped might help lift everyone's spirits around here! Since Jack often reminisced so fondly about his visit to Christmas Town last year, Sally decided they could try to recreate some of that festive atmosphere right here; in Halloween Town at least every once in a while…

So after running her idea by the Mayor, Sally decided that every February the 29th, the residents of Halloween Town should stage a little carnival where everyone could come together and just have fun!

But before any further action could be taken, the Mayor informed Sally that they needed to ask the other inhabitants of Halloween Town whether they thought Sally's idea for a carnival once every four years should go ahead or not. The Mayor agreed to help her spread the word about her petition by talking to the Town's male citizens (although Sally made it very clear that she didn't want Jack to know anything about her plan just yet!) Meanwhile, Sally herself would try to persuade the female citizens and hopefully everyone will be on board with her idea!

But first things first. Sally needed to check up on her beloved Jack before she commenced her door-to-door petition to all of Halloween Town's female inhabitants today…

Sally took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she stepped into the small room and looked around with trepidation. Deep down, she knew what she was going to find even before she saw him, but no matter how hard she tried to prepare herself mentally for this moment, it still broke her heart to see her dear Jack looking so miserable.

Sally groaned with despair as her eyes picked out Jack's tall skeletal form at the other end of the room. He was standing by the window just as she'd expected with a vacant expression on his bony face, his long skeleton arms hanging limply by his sides as he stared absently into the early morning gloom outside.

Sally sighed as she set the tea she had been holding on a desk in the corner of the room and slowly approached Jack from the side. The Pumpkin King gave no indication that he saw her walking up to him. He didn't turn around and greet her like he used to or acknowledge her in any way.

Sally desperately tried to hide the disappointment in her voice as she came up beside him and whispered, "Good morning my darling. Do you have any plans for today?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary my love." Jack replied distractedly. He glanced over at Sally briefly before turning his gaze back to the window. "I just wish I could do _something_ to make this place more interesting…"

Sally bit her lip and glanced away evasively. She started pulling at one of the stiches in her left arm like she tended to do when she was nervous, unintentionally unravelling the seam so that a few dried leaves that formed the stuffing in her arm were poking through the hole she had made.

Finally she took a deep breath and offered hesitantly, "Well since you're busy, I was thinking of visiting Jewel later. I was hoping I can get my old sewing box back if she's not using it."

Sally felt her face blushing as she added shyly, "I remembered that I left it in my old room at Dr. Finkelstein's observatory and I would like to have it back. I am quite fond of it…"

Jack nodded slowly and spoke without looking at the ragdoll. "Of course my dear. You shouldn't feel like you have to stay cooped up in here with my miserable self all day."

A frown of determination suddenly formed on Jack's bony face. Sally gasped in surprise as he turned towards her and declared loudly, "An idea will come to me soon. I can feel it in my bones! I _will_ find a way to break the depressing monotony of this place!"

Jack reached out with a skeletal hand and touched Sally on the forearm reassuringly. "I promise you that one day, I will show you the time of your life Sal!"

Sally smiled at Jack encouragingly. She reached up and gently squeezed his hand before saying in a somewhat relieved voice, "That's wonderful my darling. I'll leave you to your brainstorming while I go visit Jewel."

As Sally turned to leave, she added over her shoulder abruptly, "I promise I won't be gone too long…"

She heard Jack chuckling softly behind her. "Take as long as you like my love! Tell Jewel I said hello when you see her! Now go and have some fun!"

Sally felt a surge of hope in her heart when she heard this. This sounded more like the Jack she knew! She smiled and turned to look back at him, only to find the Pumpkin King lost in his thoughts once more. The same vacant look that she had seen in his eye sockets earlier had once again returned as Jack gazed out the window distractedly.

Sally sighed sadly as she walked over to the spiral staircase. She gave one final despairing glance at the Pumpkin King before descending the stairs and disappearing from view.

XXX

A short time later, Sally was standing outside Dr. Finkelstein's observatory. She was feeling very uneasy as she opened the front door and stepped into the cavernous room beyond. She glanced around with apprehension, as if a part of her was expecting to find the Doctor waiting for her inside. But thankfully, the old scientist was nowhere in sight and Sally let out a small sigh of relief.

Ever since she had abandoned him to go live with Jack, Sally felt downright uncomfortable around her creator. In fact, she tried to go out of her way to avoid him as much as possible. Although Dr. Finkelstein seemed resigned to the fact that Sally had no intention of ever returning to live in her old home with him, Sally couldn't help feeling incredibly guilty about leaving her creator in pursuit of her own happiness. She knew that Dr. Finkelstein needed a carer to help him overcome the everyday challenges that arose due to his disability and advanced age.

But she also realized that the true reason he had created her was because he wanted a companion above all else. Sally understood that the old Doctor tended to get lonely at times, shut away inside his lab with only limited opportunities to venture outside and mingle with the other townsfolk.

That's why he had created first her, and later Jewel. He longed to have someone to keep him company in this vast, lonely place he resided in.

Sally knew that Dr. Finkelstein made her life miserable at times with his demanding nature and complaining. But he also took great pride in all his creations and was very protective of them.

Despite her mixed feelings about him, Sally had always considered Dr. Finkelstein to be like a father figure to her and no matter how many times she'd betrayed his trust before, she knew deep down that he just wanted to know that she was safe, whether she chose to live with him or not.

Sally glanced around the entryway nervously and closed the door behind her as silently as possible. She tried to push the guilty thoughts about deserting her creator aside and console herself with the belief that Jewel was probably taking better care of him than she ever did…

After taking a moment to steal her nerves, Sally tiptoed quietly up the winding ramp of the observatory and headed towards her former room on the second floor to seek out Jewel.

It wasn't long before Sally noticed that the door to her old room was slightly ajar and as she got closer, she peeked inside cautiously. Much to her relief, she saw that Jewel was alone and currently polishing some strange-looking pink contraption in the corner of the room.

Sally cleared her throat gently to get Jewel's attention and her fellow creation instantly stopped what she was doing and turned towards the sound. A big smile of recognition slowly crept across Jewel's face as she noticed Sally standing there and she beckoned for her to enter the room with a wave of her arm.

"Sally! What a lovely surprise it is to see you dear! Come in!" Jewel exclaimed welcomingly.

Sally threw a nervous glance over her shoulder and stepped into the room quickly. Jewel immediately understood why the ragdoll seemed so anxious and she added reassuringly, "Don't worry my dear! I can assure you that we are alone! Old Fink is sound asleep in his room."

Sally's posture relaxed slightly upon hearing this and she let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good…"

Jewel nodded. She locked gazes with Sally and asked amicably, "So what brings you here to see me today, dear sister?"

"Well I was hoping to talk to you about something Jewel…" Sally started to say, but she was cut-off by a loud exclamation of disgust from Jewel.

"Whoa! Hold it right there sister!" Jewel commanded with pure contempt in her voice. Sally blinked in surprise as the blonde creation took a menacing step towards her.

Jewel's demeanor had suddenly changed from friendly and welcoming, to hostile and imposing as she stared straight into Sally's eyes and informed seriously, "My name is no longer Jewel. She is dead and I never want to hear you refer to me by that name again, understand?!"

The creation formerly known as Jewel, gestured to herself and announced flamboyantly, "Allow me to introduce myself properly: I am Marie."

Sally was too stunned to reply, but her expression told Marie all she needed to know. The blonde creation reached out with a gloved hand and touched Sally lightly on the arm in an attempt to reassure her.

Still, she was unable to totally hide the resentment in her voice as she explained bitterly, "You see my dear, the Doctor gave you such a lovely name; Sally."

Sally smiled meekly and shrugged. "Well, it's okay I guess…"

Sally could feel Marie's hand gripping her forearm a little tighter. She averted her gaze from the other creation's nervously as Marie went on acidly. "Meanwhile, what did I get…? Stupid Jewel! Sorry, I meant _Precious Jewel!"_

Marie shook her head and snorted with bemusement before adding, "Then again, the old fool _was_ missing half his brain when he came up with that gem of a name…"

Marie sighed and finally relaxed her grip on Sally's arm. She offered her sister creation a little smile and softened her gaze. "So I decided to give myself a new name. Something nice and sensible like yours!"

"What do you think? You like it Sally?" Marie prompted adamantly.

"Su-sure! It's a lovely name Jew-uh Marie!" Sally stuttered nervously. She rubbed the spot on her arm that Marie had squeezed gingerly, as though she was trying to soothe a nasty bruise.

"Yes, I think so. Anyway that's the only name I will be responding to from now on, so don't you forget it sister!" Marie stated with an unnerving laugh.

Suddenly her eyes widened with revelation. The blonde creation looked back at Sally hopefully before adding, "Can I request a favor from you dear? Since you're a bit more popular in this Town than I am, I would really appreciate it if you could help spread the word about my new name!"

After a moment's hesitation, Sally nodded in agreement. Despite the initial shock she had experienced at learning of her sister's new name, it was in Sally's nature to want to help others anyway she could.

"Of course I will Marie. I'd be glad to help." She promised quietly.

"Excellent!" Marie nodded appreciatively. Then she tilted her head slightly to the side and regarded her sister creation with curiosity. "You still haven't told me why you've come out here to see me dear…"

Sally felt her face blushing. She quickly dropped her gaze to the floor before admitting, "I actually came to ask for your help too…"

This time it was Marie's turn to look surprised. She stared at the ragdoll in contemplative silence for a few seconds. Then without saying a word, Marie made a sweeping gesture with her right arm, urging Sally to continue.

Sally took a deep breath and swallowed nervously. She kept her eyes glued to the ground as she started explaining, "Jack has been feeling pretty depressed these past few weeks, so I've come up with an idea that might help cheer him up as well as everyone else in Town. I thought it would be nice if we could stage a sort of carnival in Town every four years on February the 29th..."

Sally forced herself to look up slowly at Marie and continued speaking with a little more conviction in her voice. "I've already talked to the Mayor about this idea and he agreed to help by asking all the male citizens in Town whether they think we should go ahead with it. Meanwhile, I need to spread the word to all the female citizens and see if they'll agree to sign a petition and help me organize the event."

"And how many of the Town's female inhabitants have you spoken to regarding this petition so far?" Marie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sally blushed again. Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she said, "Well, you're the first actually…"

"Is that so…" Marie stroked her chin with a forefinger thoughtfully. A sly smile slowly crept across her wide mouth as she declared, "Well since you value my opinion so highly, let's hear this ingenious idea of yours!"

Sally began picking at the stitches on her left arm absently as she spoke. "Like I said, I want to create a carnival atmosphere where everyone can participate in fun activities on the night of February the 29th. I thought that Mrs. Vampire's little boys can perform their bat dance and the young witches can have a broomstick race? Maybe the werewolf kids can do their howling acapella in the moonlight?"

Sally trailed off and glanced down bashfully. "That's all I've got so far…"

"That's all fine I guess. But I couldn't help noticing that all of those are children's activities…" Marie pointed out with a small laugh. A teasing glint suddenly appeared in the younger creation's eye and she asked Sally probingly, "Speaking of which, when are you and Jack planning on having your little ragdolls? Or should I call them _ragbones…?"_

Sally almost fainted from embarrassment at the prospect of her and Jack having children. But she quickly shrugged and mumbled hastily, "Well one day perhaps…we're still young…"

Sally drew in a deep breath and spoke without making eye-contact with Marie, who was grinning at her unsettlingly. "But you're right. I only have ideas for children's activities so far…"

Sally looked up at the blonde creation and ventured hopefully, "That's why I wanted to talk to you Marie. I was hoping that maybe you and some of the Town's other female inhabitants could offer some more suggestions about the type of activities we should have?"

"Hmm…let me think…" Marie tapped her chin thoughtfully, causing the ruby bracelet around her left wrist to clink softly.

"We need to have food and drinks of course…" Marie laughed as an idea suddenly came to her. "Oh! And maybe the men could try wrestling giant snakes! You know how many of the men in Town like to boast about how strong and fearsome they are? Well maybe they should put it to the test by wrangling some of the biggest, meanest serpents in Halloween Town!"

Marie looked at Sally inquiringly. "We _do_ have giant snakes in this Town don't we…?"

Sally shuddered instinctively as she remembered hearing of an exceptionally large, ravenous serpent in Halloween Town that was always trying to eat everything in sight…

"Yes. We do…" She replied in a small voice.

"Brilliant!" Marie's voice rose with excitement and she started offering up more suggestions eagerly. "We could also perform some traditional Halloween Town dances under a corridor of ladders! Oh! And how about playing _Dunk the Zombie?_ Maybe a nice, refreshing dip into a pool of ice cold water would help revive the brainless bozos a little!"

Sally felt her own excitement rising as she hurriedly noted down Marie's suggestions on a small piece of paper she had brought with her. "Oh Marie! These ideas sound great! I don't think I can thank you enough for all your help!"

Marie waved her arm modestly in response to Sally's praise. She had a pleased smile on her lipstick-covered mouth as she said with fake generosity, "Just one more thing my dear and then I'll let the other women in Town offer up some ideas."

"Oh?" Sally looked up at extravagantly-dressed creation with polite curiosity.

"I've heard that in some cultures around the world, _wife-carrying_ is considered a serious sport." Marie informed the ragdoll with a mischievous smile. "So how about we hold a wife-carrying contest with a Halloween Town twist? The husbands have to carry their wives on their backs whilst chasing after black cats!"

Marie shivered visibly before adding in a hushed voice, "I wouldn't want to be the poor cat being chased by the werewolf couple though!"

"That's a very…uh… _interesting_ idea Marie…" Sally remarked with a nervous chuckle.

She finished taking notes and put the piece of paper away. Then Sally looked down shyly as she told her sister creation in a hesitant whisper, "I was also thinking that we could elect a _King of Kind_ and _Queen of Hearts_ at the end of the evening and whoever is chosen, should try to help out the community as much as possible throughout the year…"

"Oh! What a marvelous idea Sally!" Marie agreed enthusiastically. At least the blonde creation _hoped_ she sounded enthusiastic.

Deep down she was actually thinking, _"Give me a break! King of Kind?!_ _In_ _my opinion, being Kind is a waste of time! And by the way, this Town is about to get a new Queen you foolish ragdoll! But I'm definitely no Queen of Hearts! More like the Queen of Chopped Body Parts…"_

Suddenly a loud creaking sound made Sally jump and cry out in fright.

"Oh no! Dr. Finkelstein has woken up!" Sally gasped. Her eyes were filled with panic as she glanced at the door anxiously.

Marie however, didn't look fazed in the slightest. Sally heard her chuckling softly behind her and she turned and stared at her sister creation with open-mouthed surprise. The ragdoll noticed that her sister was smiling at her slyly, as though she took great pleasure in seeing her in distress. Sally found that deeply unsettling…

Marie ignored the wounded look her sister was giving her and waved her arm dismissively in front of her. "You should have seen the look on your face dear! Relax! This is an old building after all and sometimes it creaks and groans without warning!"

Sally still looked a little uneasy, but she also didn't want to argue with Marie. She couldn't understand why, but there was something very disturbing about her sister creation and she was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable around her. It's just that Marie had changed so much since the last time Sally had seen her! She used to be so sweet and welcoming, but today she appeared almost sinister at times…

Sally tried to force these unnerving thoughts aside as she met Marie's gaze and reluctantly nodded in acceptance. "Yes. You're probably right Marie. I'm sorry that I overreacted…"

Marie reached out a hand and rubbed Sally reassuringly on the arm. Her voice was deathly calm as she whispered to her rattled sister, "Don't worry about it dear! I can assure you that Old Fink is still out like a light and he will remain so for a while yet!"

Marie pointed to a pair of black framed spectacles with dark lenses near the pink contraption she had been polishing upon Sally's arrival. "See? His glasses are right over there and if he really was awake, he would be yelling at me to bring them to him now!"

Sally exhaled slowly. She felt some of the tension leaving her body as she reasoned with the logic behind Marie's explanation. "I suppose that makes sense. But what did you mean when you said that the Doctor will remain asleep for a while yet…?"

Marie gave her sister a knowing wink and smirked. "Well I hope you don't mind dear, but I recently discovered a few jars of your special herbs and spices hidden away in one of the kitchen cupboards and I've started mixing small amounts of them into his meals..."

Marie's grin grew wider and a devious glint flashed in her eyes as she exclaimed, "Voila! They make Fink go nighty-night for hours on end and I can enjoy some much-needed peace and quiet!"

"I think _Deadly Nightshade_ is my personal favorite…" Marie remarked whilst nudging Sally with her elbow.

Sally blushed and looked down guiltily. "Well, I didn't use it all the time and I certainly never intended to cause him any long-term harm. I just gave him some now and then when I needed a bit of a break from him…"

Marie burst out laughing and Sally flinched instinctively. The blonde creation slapped her sister on the shoulder in reconciliation and said, "You don't have to justify your actions to me dear! Believe me, if anyone can understand why you'd want to poison our creator, it's me! In fact, I'm relieved that you left those jars behind! They've been coming in handy a lot lately…"

Marie suddenly cleared her throat and nodded towards the pink contraption. "On another note, what do you think of my birthday present?"

The blonde creation walked over to the pink device and ran her hand over the polished wooden frame lovingly. Her voice was filled with pride and admiration as she stated, "Sally, allow me to introduce you to my pride and joy! This is Joanne; my guillotine! Isn't she beautiful?"

Sally regarded the pink guillotine with a mixture of awe and trepidation. "Oh! That's a lovely decoration Marie…"

Marie nodded and continued caressing the pink frame tenderly, her hand only inches away from the deadly blade.

Sally clasped her hands together and glanced around the room uneasily. Her voice took on a slightly urgent tone as she ventured, "Um Marie? I told Jack that the reason I've come to see you was to retrieve my old sewing box. I didn't want him to know what I've really been up to, since I intend to surprise him with my carnival idea once I'm certain that it will go ahead."

Sally looked up at her sister creation timidly. "So can I please have my sewing box back if you're not using it? Jack will find it suspicious if I return home without it…"

"I see…" Marie said flatly.

Sally noticed that Marie seemed somewhat annoyed at her request, but she couldn't have had the slightest idea as to why…

Finally, Marie let out a sigh and admitted begrudgingly, "Well, I actually _was_ using it sister. But at the end of the day, it _is_ yours and if you wish to have it back, then I have no right to keep it from you."

"Just give me one moment dear…" Marie walked over to the dresser beside her bed and opened the top drawer. Sally watched with curiosity as Marie took out one of her numerous jewelry boxes and carefully emptied the contents into the open drawer. Then the blonde creation knelt down and retrieved Sally's sewing box from under her bed.

Sally thought it was odd that Marie had been keeping her sewing box under the bed, but she wisely kept quiet as she watched her sister stand up again and fumble around in her dresser drawer. Marie then turned her back to Sally in an attempt to obstruct her view. Nevertheless, the ragdoll noticed that she appeared to be transferring _something_ with the utmost care from Sally's sewing box into her now empty jewelry box.

As soon as she was done, Marie closed the drawer and slid the jewelry box containing the mystery _thing_ back under her bed before placing Sally's empty sewing box on the desk by the window. The problem with this? The desk happened to be located on the other side of the guillotine…

"There you go dear. Come and get your beloved sewing box…" Marie said almost tauntingly.

Sally glanced at her sister questioningly. She was surprised at why Marie didn't just hand the box to her outright instead of placing it by the window. Now "Joanne the guillotine" was situated directly in between Sally and her sewing box and the only way Sally could possibly reach it was by sliding her arm underneath Joanne's razor-sharp blade…

" _Okay Sally. You'll be fine. It's just a decoration…"_ Sally tried to convince to herself silently.

Although Marie had been acting strange all day, Sally didn't want to believe that her sister creation would intentionally put her in any kind of danger. She still found it odd as to why Marie didn't just hand the sewing box to her instead of forcing her to reach under the guillotine, but Sally decided that she must have her reasons, whatever they may be.

So going against her better judgement, Sally decided she would do it Marie's way. The ragdoll slowly reached out with her right arm and passed it under the guillotine's blade cautiously, her eyes focused on her sewing box on the other side. As she was doing this, Sally failed to notice that the bejeweled execution chord was excessively long and the end was lying on the floor like a coiled snake.

Meanwhile, Marie had been watching Sally's every movement with calculative patience. She waited until Sally's arm was well underneath the blade. Then without warning, Marie lunged to the side and kicked out with her left leg, triggering the execution chord and sending the guillotine's blade bearing down on Sally's trapped limb. There was a terrible slicing sound and moments later, a flurry of dried orange and brown leaves were sent flying in all directions as Sally's right arm was severed just below the elbow.

A deathly silence followed as Sally stared at her dismembered arm in shock. Her hand was still clasped around the sewing box while autumn leaves covered the floor around the guillotine and stuck out from the gaping wound below her elbow.

Finally, Marie disentangled her leg from the execution chord and sprang into action. "OH NO! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

Marie gasped and made a show of looking genuinely distraught. She grabbed at her blonde hair with both hands and launched into a fit of hysterical babbling. "Sally! I am so sorry sister! I've gone and hurt you really badly! How could I have been so clumsy?! What are we going to do…?"

Sally was still frozen with shock. She didn't know what to think! She didn't want to believe that Marie had done this on purpose, but she just wasn't sure of anything anymore…

After a few more moments, Sally spoke in a shell-shocked whisper, her eyes still fixated on her severed limb. "It's not the first time one of my limbs has come off. I can fix it with a needle and thread…"

"Okay. Needle and thread. I can go bring some! Just wait right here dear! We'll have you fixed up in no time!" Marie promised as she ran out the room to fetch the necessary items to sew Sally's arm back on.

As soon as she was alone, Sally glanced at Joanne the guillotine and thought to herself, _"You're not just a decoration after all, are you? What on earth is Marie planning to use you for…?"_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Those of you that are familiar with some of my other works probably know that I tend to write pretty long author notes at the end of my chapters. Sometimes I even share some real things about my life if I think it is relevant to the story!**

 **In this case, I have a few reasons for choosing the name** _ **Marie**_ **for this story's villainess. Jewel (a.k.a. Marie) is actually inspired by a few different Marie's. First there's Marie Antoinette the French queen, which I thought was a good choice because of the guillotine reference as well as the fact that Jewel sees herself as the new Queen of Halloween Town.**

 **I also like Tripledent's idea of Marie Curie because she was a scientist like Dr. Finkelstein and since Jewel has half of Fink's brain, she would be very intelligent (although this Marie won't be winning any Nobel prizes for her work!)**

 **But mostly Marie's character is inspired by my aunt from hell who not only made my life miserable throughout the years, but also those of other family members and pretty much everyone else's around her! She also changed her original name to** _ **Marie**_ **because in her opinion, her original name wasn't posh enough! She's so horrible, that I think if the monsters of Halloween Town ever met this nasty piece of work, they would all be running for their lives!**

 **I would like to thank** _ **Hannah29K9, Tripledent**_ **and** _ **Rainbowthefox**_ **for your wonderful reviews! Your feedback really keeps me motivated :)** **At the end of my stories, I usually write personal little thank you notes to all the people who have been supporting me on my writing journey. So guys, you will be thanked again!**

 **I'd also like to say a special thank you to all the silent Hungarian readers (where I've noticed that many of my views are from.) So to all you guys, I'd like to say** _ **Köszönöm!**_ **(I hope I spelled that correctly! If not, blame Google...) Your support is really heartwarming as my great-grandfather was Hungarian :)**

 **Lastly, I'd like to thank all the other silent readers from around the world for following me on this wonderful journey to Halloween Town so far! I hope you decide to stick around because the suspense is only starting...**

 _ **P.S. Wife-carrying is a real competition! It started in Finland, but is now seen in some other parts of the world too :)**_

 **Svinorita.**


	4. The Witching Hour

**Chapter 4 – The Witching Hour.**

Sally tried to sneak back into the house as silently as possible. She took great care in concealing her right arm by holding her sewing box in front of it as she headed towards her room with urgency. Her mind was still reeling from her harrowing experience at Dr. Finkelstein's observatory and she didn't want Jack to see her in her current state if she could help it.

Sally let out a heartbroken sob as she thought about what Marie had done to her. She still didn't want to believe that her sister creation had deliberately tricked her into getting her arm sliced off by the guillotine. But at the same time, the reasoning part of her mind told her that Marie's actions were undisputedly intentional.

How could Marie have _accidentally_ tripped over that chord like she'd claimed? It just didn't make any sense from a logical standpoint! Besides, Sally could have sworn that she saw Marie kick out her leg in order to trigger the guillotine when it was no longer possible for her to get her arm out of the way in time…

Sally felt a teardrop sliding down her cheek and she stopped halfway across the front room as a memory from earlier today came back to haunt her. Right after the guillotine had severed her right arm, Sally had looked into her sister's eyes and she remembered seeing an evil glint there, as though the whole incident had been some kind of test and Marie was feeling very pleased with the results.

But that wasn't all either…

Sally felt more tears stinging her eyes as she held out her injured arm and examined the bright pink stitches that encircled the area where her limb had been severed just below her elbow. After everything that had happened, Marie had offered to sew her arm back on. However, she had insisted on using brightly-colored thread because in her opinion, black was too _"drab."_

So Marie had given Sally an option between hot pink or fluro-yellow thread instead!

"Sorry dear, but I don't have any of those drab colors that you prefer." Marie had said almost mockingly as she began stitching Sally's arm back on.

"As you can see, I like bright, pretty colors…" Marie pointed to her guillotine for emphasis and laughed evilly.

Sally had felt miserable and utterly humiliated, but she decided not to argue as she allowed Marie to stitch her arm back on shabbily. The hot pink stitches were an eyesore and Sally had every intention of replacing them with her usual black thread once she arrived home.

That's why she had been trying to sneak off into her room before Jack could notice anything and question her about it.

But unfortunately, it was not meant to be…

All of a sudden, Sally felt something cold and damp nudging her hand gently. She looked down in surprise and saw that Jack's ghost dog; Zero was hovering around her as though he could sense that something wasn't right.

"Zero! You shouldn't be down here!" Sally whispered frantically. She quickly hid her wounded arm behind her sewing box before trying to shoo the nosy canine away quietly. "Go back upstairs to your dog bed…"

But it was too late. Zero had noticed the strange pink stitches on Sally's arm and he started to bark like he was possessed.

"Shhh! Keep it down boy! You're going to alert Jack!" Sally pleaded in a hushed voice.

But Zero refused to be silenced. Instead his barking reached a whole new level of intensity as he hovered above Sally's recently-stitched up arm and prodded it with his nose, as if he were trying to lick her wound and make it better.

Suddenly, Jack's voice echoed down from the stairwell and Sally froze as she heard his footsteps approaching. "Zero! Be quiet boy! I'm trying to work here…"

But the ghost dog wasn't having any of it. After a few more urgent barks, he drifted in front of Sally and began to whimper insistently. A few seconds later, Jack hurried into the room. His expression was full of concern as he came to check whether his dog was hurt somehow.

"Hey, what's the matter boy…?" Jack started to say, but trailed off as soon as he saw Zero hovering around Sally.

"Sally! I didn't realize that you were home already!" Jack exclaimed, his hollow eye sockets looking at the ragdoll with surprise.

Zero turned towards his master and barked a few times to get his attention, before switching his focus back to Sally and resuming his worried whimpering.

"Argh! What has gotten into that damned dog?!" Jack scoffed as his former concern slowly gave way to annoyance.

Meanwhile, Sally remained rooted to the spot, her eyes downcast as Zero continued nuzzling at her injured arm with his glowing little jack-o-lantern nose. Sally tried to push the dog away desperately.

Unfortunately, she ended up dropping her sewing box in the process and revealing the embarrassing new stitches on her right arm...

Jack's eye sockets grew wide with shock when he caught sight of her recently re-attached limb.

Sally felt her heart sinking with despair as the Pumpkin King pointed to the hot pink stitches on her arm with a long bony finger.

"What's this?!" Jack uttered with pure horror.

Sally couldn't take it anymore. Her whole body started to shake and she dropped to her knees, covering her face with her hands as she began crying inconsolably.

Moments later, she felt Jack scooping her into his arms. The skeleton rubbed her on the back reassuringly with his bony hands as he whispered, "What happened to your arm, dear Sally?"

Sally hugged him back gently. When her crying finally subsided a little, she lamented in a trembling voice, "Oh Jack! I can't believe that Marie did this to me! And as much as it hurts to admit, it was no accident either! She looked at me with such a nasty smirk that I could practically _feel_ the hatred she was aiming at my soul…"

"Whoa! Hang on a minute my love!" Jack pulled out of Sally's embrace gently. He made a calming motion with his hand in front of the ragdoll's tear-streaked face and said in a confused voice, "I don't know what you're talking about Sal! Who's Marie?!"

Sally drew in a shaky breath. "It's Jewel! She changed her name to Marie!" She blurted out tearfully.

The ragdoll clasped her hands together and let them drop into her lap. Her eyes avoided Jack's piercing stare as she explained in a small voice, "She's so different Jack! She's nothing like she used to be when I first met her! I always thought she was so obliging and lighthearted…"

Sally gave a deep sigh of sadness. Her voice was full of hurt as she looked up slowly and said, "I've always regarded her as my sister since Dr. Finkelstein created both of us. I've never been afraid of her before, but after what happened today, I realized that she didn't just change her name. She changed her very nature! Now she seemed almost evil…"

"Okay. Let's see if I'm getting this straight…" Jack ventured, scratching his skull thoughtfully with a bony finger. "You're telling me that Jewel is now Marie and she's become evil? But how or _why_ did she chop your arm off?!"

"I don't know Jack! I'm confused too!" Sally cried miserably.

The ragdoll shook her head in disbelief and recounted, "She was so nice and friendly at first, just like all the other times we met previously. We had a long talk and then she showed me the birthday present that Dr. Finkelstein made for her. It was a pink guillotine! Then when I asked her about my sewing box later, she placed it under the guillotine and told me to reach for it…"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jack couldn't help giving a snort of bemusement when he heard this.

"Oh my sweet, trusting Sally!" The Pumpkin King took both of Sally's hands in his own gently before asking with a perplexed look, "Didn't you find that a bit suspicious? I mean, why didn't she just give you the box directly instead of putting it under the guillotine?!"

"I know Jack! Of course it seems suspicious!" Sally admitted, feeling exasperated.

The ragdoll quickly dropped her gaze to the floor and explained shyly, "But I was caught completely by surprise and I guess I wasn't thinking rationally! I kept telling myself that Marie is my younger sister and she's been doing me a huge favor by taking care of Dr. Finkelstein ever since I left home…"

Sally felt a dull aching sensation in her heart and she knew that it was the pain of betrayal. She blinked back the fresh tears threatening to spill from her eyes and continued speaking in a strained voice. "As I reached for my sewing box, Marie _supposedly_ tripped over the execution chord and my arm got sliced off by the guillotine. I still don't want to believe that she had done it intentionally, but it's looking increasingly likely that it wasn't an accident."

Sally held up her right arm and inspected the ugly pink thread that had been used to stitch it back together before adding dejectedly, "Then as if she wanted to mock me further, she offered to sew my arm back on with either this hot pink thread, or a fluro-yellow one! It's almost like she placed a target on me and I've got a terrible feeling that she has even nastier surprises in store…"

Jack had been listening to Sally's explanation with mixed emotions. He felt saddened that Sally had to go through such an awful ordeal at the hands of someone she considered to be family. He also felt guilty that he hadn't been there to protect her from getting hurt. As the King of Halloween Town, it was his duty to make sure that all the residents of this Town felt safe by putting any potential troublemakers in their place and dealing with them by any means necessary if he had to.

But most of all, Jack felt angry that someone had deliberately tried to harm Sally; his dearest friend as well as the one of the kindest and most innocent citizens in all of Halloween Town…

The Pumpkin King suddenly struck a very imposing figure as he stood up to his full height, his tall slender form casting a towering shadow over the walls. A deep frown appeared on his skull as his eye sockets took on a fierce look and he bared his teeth in rage. "I'm going to fix this injustice right now! I need to have a serious talk with Dr. Finkelstein and Marie and give them both a piece of my mind!"

Sally let out an instinctive gasp of fright. She wasn't scared of Jack in the sense that she felt threatened by him. It's just that whenever the Pumpkin King got really angry, his powers of terror were unrivalled. He became so terrifying to look upon, that he could literally paralyze anyone around him with fear!

But Sally knew that he meant her no harm. She knew that the reason he had gotten so angry in the first place was because he cared about her deeply. The ragdoll quickly recovered from her initial fright and took his arm in her hand. She saw the rage leaving Jack's face and his expression became neutral once more as she gently pulled him down next to her again.

"Please don't go Jack. I need you to stay with me so we can discuss what we should do about all of this together." Sally's expression suddenly turned serious. She took a deep breath and offered nervously, "I believe that Marie is planning to do something terrible with that guillotine because when she pulled that chord, I got the impression that she was only _testing_ it on me…"

XXX

It was well past midnight when Marie decided to check on Dr. Finkelstein. She pushed open the heavy steel door leading to the old Doctor's room and silently made her way over to her creator's bedside, wary that the effects of the _Deadly Nightshade_ she had given to him earlier might have worn off slightly by now.

In the dim light cast by the moon filtering in through the window, Marie could see the body of her creator as he lay motionless in bed. His wheelchair was still sitting in the corner of the room, exactly where Marie had left it after she had helped Dr. Finkelstein to bed several hours earlier. Still, she had to be sure that he really was asleep...

It wasn't until she got closer, that she was able to make out the faint movement of the Doctor's shallow breathing as his chest rose and fell with every labored breath and she let out a giggle of malice.

"I see you're still out like a light Old Bones!" Marie whispered to her sleeping creator tauntingly.

She carefully pressed her fingertips against Dr. Finkelstein's left wrist and noted that his pulse felt weaker than normal, which meant that there was still a substantial amount of _Nightshade_ in his system.

" _More than enough to keep the Doctor sedated for the remainder of the night."_ Marie calculated with a sinister grin. She had a secret rendezvous planned for tonight and she certainly didn't want this demanding Old Fossil waking up early to find her missing during the dead of night!

Marie couldn't afford to take any chances. She had spent weeks preparing for this night, painstakingly gathering all the material she needed to bring _Plan A_ to life (quite literally!) and she didn't want prying eyes watching her every move and discovering her dirty little secret.

That's why she had chosen the darkest time of the night – the fabled Witching Hour – to carry out her scheme. Aside from the cover provided by the darkness, this was also the part of the night that supernatural forces and dark magic were believed to be at their strongest, and Marie hoped she could use that to her advantage tonight.

After all, her three young co-conspirators had told her that " _Plan A"_ was practically _made_ of dark magic! (Well, that as well as some other creepy components that Marie had been informed of...) So she decided that performing the task during the Witching Hour was not only fitting, but perhaps it might also infuse " _Plan A"_ with even more power! Then if everything turned out as planned, she would have the most dangerous weapon Halloween Town had ever seen at her command and that would make her truly unstoppable…

Marie gave Dr. Finkelstein another wicked smirk before leaving him in his Nightshade-induced coma and heading back to her own room to gather all the supplies she needed. She took the jewelry box out from under her bed and checked that the precious contents were still securely inside.

Then with the box tucked under her arm, Marie made her way out of the observatory. As she stepped outside into the cool nighttime air, Marie heard the haunting howl of a lone werewolf far away in the distance. The moon was hidden behind a thick mass of clouds and the only source of light came from the stars and the dim glow of a few jack-o-lanterns that lined the Town's quiet streets.

Marie did a quick check of her surroundings to make sure no one had seen her leaving the observatory, but thankfully the streets were pretty much deserted. The majority of the Town's inhabitants were asleep and aside from the melancholic werewolf howling in the distance, the only other signs of activity Marie detected were the faint whispers of a coven of witches as they went off to their nightly gathering.

" _Well, it is called the Witching Hour for a reason…"_ Marie thought to herself with a chuckle.

Feeling confident that she hadn't been seen, Marie set off to meet her co-conspirators at the necessary rendezvous location. Her journey took her to the outskirts of Halloween Town and a few minutes later, she was standing on the far side of Graveyard Hill when she saw her destination. It was a huge Treehouse situated in the middle of a deep pit. There was a rope bridge leading from the tree to the edge of the pit, with what appeared to be a cage dangling from a metal structure nestled atop the tree's dead branches.

As Marie approached the Treehouse cautiously, she saw the cage being lowered from the top of the tree to the rope bridge and she realized then that the cage must be some kind of elevator. She stopped at the edge of the pit and waited expectantly as three small figures climbed out of the cage/elevator and hurried across the bridge to meet her.

Lock, who resembled a young devil, approached Marie first and flashed her a toothy grin. "What took you so long?! We thought you weren't coming!" He said mockingly.

"Yeah! It's getting really late. The Witching Hour will be over soon!" Shock (who ironically, happened to be a young witch herself) pointed out impatiently.

Barrel, the shortest and youngest of the trio, yawned loudly as he joined the other two kids. "Yeah! It's way past my bedtime!"

"Don't worry my young friends! We still have plenty of time!" Marie assured them with a confident smile. She showed them the jewelry box proudly and explained, "We only have one shot at making this work and I just wanted to ensure that everything was perfect before we commence the resurrection…"

Marie trailed off as a rancid smell drifted up from the pit below them. She recoiled impulsively, pinching her nose with one hand before turning back to the three kids.

"Judging by that revolting smell, I gather that you three have been following my instructions…" The blonde creation observed, trying her hardest not to gag as she reluctantly took her hand away from her nose and regained her regal composure.

"But did you manage to get _everything_ we need for tonight?" Marie asked, regarding the children with an icy glare.

"Before we get to that, do you swear that you'll keep your promise to us once this is over?" Shock reminded the creation brazenly. The little witch was totally undeterred as she folded her arms over her chest and glared back at Marie challengingly.

"Yeah! We wouldn't want to end up as _collateral damage_ …" Lock ventured with a nervous laugh.

"I promise that I'll keep my end of the bargain as long as you three keep yours." Marie replied half-heartedly.

Barrel wagged a short, chubby finger in the blonde creation's face.

"Swear it then!" He prompted stubbornly.

Marie gave him a look of pure contempt and dug her fingernails into her palms as she vowed begrudgingly, "I, Marie Imnotdeadyet, swear that I will help you resurrect your former Master; Oogie Boogie. Then I will rule over this Town with you and Oogie at my side."

Marie gave the children her most convincing smile and promised, "Once I am Queen, I will let you three get away with as much mischief as you like! We will become the new royal family of Halloween Town and I'll even let you play with my precious guillotine…"

Lock, Shock and Barrel seemed very pleased with this offer. The three kids exchanged excited looks before cheering simultaneously and bursting into song:

"Hail to Queen Marie!

She's going to help us get our Master back, then everyone will see how wicked we can be!

We're going to have lots of fun and show them how it's done!

Anyone who opposes our rule is bound to be a fool,

We will make them go away soon by sending them to their doom!"

Marie couldn't help smiling with fondness as she watched the children dancing and gamboling about. She usually despised kids, since the majority of the Town's children often teased and taunted her in the past.

But there was something about these three diabolical children that Marie found almost endearing. They were outcasts like herself. None of the Town's other citizens liked them very much because they were always running amok and stirring up trouble one way or another. Many considered them to be a menace and referred to them as Halloween Town's Troublesome Trio.

Marie knew that due to their former affiliation with Oogie Boogie, many of the Town's residents thought they were downright nasty and wicked.

Maybe that's why the blonde creation felt a certain kinship towards them…

Marie suddenly registered a small tug on her left arm. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked down to see Lock grinning at her with his pointy little devil teeth.

"We've got everything we need to start the resurrection Queen Marie!" Lock glanced back at his two co-workers before snickering, "Although that last piece was really hard to catch!"

"Yeah! Every time I got close, it hissed and tried to bite me before slithering out of reach again!" Barrel recalled with a slight shudder. But already a smile was creeping across his pale face as he rubbed his hands together and declared, "But I did get it in the end! I did!"

"You all did wonderfully my dears!" Marie praised them sincerely. She held out her jewelry box once more and tapped it eagerly before adding, "I've done my part too, so let's get started kids! It's time to resurrect a Boogeyman…"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I would like to give a huge thank you to** _ **Tripledent, Hannah29K9, rainbowthefox**_ **and** _ **Bluerose160**_ **for your amazing reviews and support :)**

 **I am overjoyed that I was able to entertain you all with my story so far and I also love how most of you share your thoughts in your feedback about what you think might happen next! I can assure you that this story is far from over and there are still many twists, tender moments and unexpected outcomes along the way!**

 **I hope you decide to stick around and discover what unfolds next…**

 **I would also like to send out a special thank you to all my fellow Australians who have been supporting me both in reviews and silently so far! Out of all the stories I've written so far, this one seems to have received the most homegrown support and I am very touched by the responses I've had to it :)**

 **Thank you also to all the other readers from around the world who have been tuning in to this story and hopefully you guys will stick around for future chapters too :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	5. Boogieman Blues

**Chapter 5 – Boogieman Blues.**

The moonlight cast an eerie glow over the silent nocturnal landscape. A light breeze had begun to blow, scattering the clouds that had obscured its luminescence up till now. Shadows appeared from behind the buildings and dead trees, their enchanting shapes dancing mysteriously over the ground as the wind whispered through the branches and around the eaves of buildings like ghostly voices in the night.

The vast majority of Halloween Town's citizens were sound asleep by now, blissfully unaware of the dark sorcery unfolding near the huge Treehouse on the outskirts of their Town…

Marie and the three Trick-or-Treaters had everything they needed to commence their gruesome resurrection. They were all very eager to get started, but it was Barrel, the youngest of the three children who was unable to contain his excitement any longer as he danced in front of Marie restlessly.

"Let's get this party started already!" He exclaimed euphorically, his whole body trembling with anticipation as his excitement reached a fever pitch.

Marie shot him a scornful look. "Quit messing around! This is very serious business and I need _all_ of you to focus!" She reprimanded harshly.

Barrel froze mid-dance. He heard Lock and Shock snickering behind him and he quickly averted his sunken eyes away from their teasing gazes.

"Oh…I was just trying to get everyone hyped up…" He mumbled with discouragement.

Marie ignored the little monster's protest as she opened her jewelry box and carefully pulled out a folded, rough-textured piece of material. Lock, Shock and Barrel recognized what it was immediately and all three gave little involuntary gasps of reverence the moment they saw the familiar object…

It was the original burlap sack that had formed Oogie Boogie's exterior. The three of them had salvaged as much of it as they could from the basement before giving it to Marie to fix up a few weeks ago.

The three kids looked on in awe as Marie unfurled the burlap sack and showed it to them proudly. Although they had discovered that Oogie's burlap skin was surprisingly intact following his fight with Jack (and subsequent demise...) there were still a few sections that needed to be replaced entirely where too much of the original material had been destroyed.

So upon presenting the salvaged burlap to Marie, the Trio had informed the blonde creation that she would need to patch up the missing sections as best as she could.

Unfortunately, Marie appeared to have taken the term "patching up" a little bit too literally…

Instead of filling in the torn sections with replacement burlap like the children had hoped, Marie had opted to use some strange, sandy-colored fabric that was several shades lighter than Oogie's original covering. On top of this, she had decided to use a combination of magenta, burnt orange and dark lavender threads to stitch all the pieces together. The result was the most colorful Boogeyman any of them had ever seen!

"Well, what do you think children? Not a bad effort on my part if I may say so myself!" Marie boasted as she showed off her handiwork to the stunned Trick-or-Treaters.

Lock was the first to find his voice. The little devil scratched his head in bewilderment as he gestured to the sandy-colored patches sewn into the burlap. "Wait a minute. Are we supposed to be resurrecting the Boogeyman or the _Sandman?!"_

Marie narrowed her eye in contempt as Shock and Barrel erupted into a fit of laughter at their cohort's remark.

"Don't you dare mock me, you little brats!" The blonde creation rebuked with her hands on her hips. "It isn't my fault that I never got to see your Master in all his rotten glory before he went and got himself killed!"

Marie turned up her nose and added defiantly, "I don't know what he looked like originally, so I did my best to restore him to how I believe he _should_ look! Let me tell you right now that if there's one thing I can't stand, it's drab color! I prefer bright colors and fashion…"

"But what if Oogie doesn't recognize himself now that he looks like this?!" Shock pointed out with a bemused snort.

Marie grinned slyly and waved her arm dismissively. "Well if I recall correctly, you three gave me that huge white grub and insisted that it represented the very essence of Oogie's spirit!"

Marie ran her hand over the _color-infused_ burlap sack admirably as she spoke. "So seeing as that particular grub is right here, I'm feeling pretty confident that I managed to capture Oogie's true nature somewhere along the way…regardless of how colorful I made his outward appearance!"

Lock, Shock and Barrel exchanged doubtful looks. Finally the three kids shrugged and turned their attentions back to the blonde creation expectantly.

"Right. Oogie's skin is ready, now it's time to give him his flesh…" Marie chuckled. She gave the kids a sinister smile. "Bring me the bugs!"

Shock stayed outside with Marie while Lock and Barrel hurried downstairs to fetch the bugs. As soon as the two boys stepped into the cage-shaped elevator, they were lowered down into the pit where they entered the basement that was once Oogie Boogie's lair through a small window.

Shock eyed the colorful burlap sack in Marie's hands skeptically, but decided to keep her thoughts to herself as she waited for the boys to return with the insects. She knew they needed _a lot_ of bugs in order to bring Oogie back to life. And boy, did they manage to amass a huge horde of delectable creepy-crawlies for their old Master!

The little witch smiled with delight as she heard the distinctive thumping sound of something large and heavy walking around in the basement. A few minutes later, both she and Marie watched from the edge of the pit as the Trio's portable, walking bathtub emerged through the basement window and methodically climbed the tree.

As the mobile bathtub crossed the bridge and marched towards them, they saw that it was filled to the brim with something, but the contents were hidden from sight by a large tarpaulin sheet. Lock stood on the reinforced sheet as he steered the tub to a stop in front of Marie and Shock. The blonde creation stifled a gasp of horror as she saw the tarp literally moving beneath the young devil's feet!

Before she could say anything, Barrel stepped out of the elevator and ran across the rope bridge to rejoin the others. He was carrying a cloth bag over his shoulder haphazardly and Marie could have sworn that she heard an agitated hiss coming from inside the bag…

Meanwhile, Lock jumped out of the bathtub and carefully removed the tarpaulin sheet that had covered the seething mass under his feet.

"Shall we get started then?" He asked Marie with a diabolical grin.

The blonde creation gagged and scrunched up her face with disgust as the putrid smell of rotten meat wafted from the bathtub. She covered her nose with one arm in a futile attempt to block out the revolting stench and took a reluctant step closer to the tub. A wave of nausea rose into her throat as she peered into the bathtub and saw a swarming mass of cockroaches, beetles and maggots crawling around inside.

"Wow! You kids have been really busy!" Marie turned to the Trio and regarded them with genuine respect for the first time since she met them several weeks earlier. "Where on earth did you manage to find all those bugs in such a short space of time?!"

The three kids exchanged knowing looks before Shock volunteered casually, "Oh it wasn't that hard, I can assure you! All we had to do was fill our bathtub with rotten food and introduce a few maggots into the mixture. The bugs began multiplying by their thousands in no time!"

"Well, I've got to say that I'm impressed children. It looks like we have more than enough bugs here to successfully revive Oogie and restore him to his former majesty!" Marie noted with a pleased smile.

Lock, Shock and Barrel nodded in agreement and rubbed their hands together with anticipation.

"Now let's begin…" With that, Marie carefully positioned the opening of the burlap sack over the bathtub and watched in awe as some of the insects began crawling inside. Before long, more and more bugs entered the sack as if they were being drawn into it by an invisible force and soon, Marie noticed a startling change in the formerly lifeless piece of burlap.

The blonde creation gasped as she felt a powerful suction originate from somewhere deep within the burlap sack and she released her hold on it. She watched with amazement as the suction steadily drew the remaining insects into the sack hungrily and the material slowly began to take shape.

Within moments, the burlap sack resembled a rather rotund creature with short, stocky arms and legs and an elongated tip to its "head" that extended outwards and flopped down at the back like a twisted version Sandy Claws' hat.

A set of deep holes similar to Jack's eye sockets appeared on the burlap creature's face and what had been the sack's original opening became a wide gaping maw for its mouth. Marie held her breath as she witnessed the incredible transformation reaching completion.

There was no longer a harmless burlap sack standing before her, but a living, breathing Boogeyman…the ultimate monster! The very creature that nightmares were made of!

Marie couldn't take her eyes off him as Oogie hoovered up the last of the bugs inside the bathtub greedily and closed his mouth with a satisfied belch.

"Magnificent!" The blonde creation uttered in a small awestruck whisper.

Oogie gave no indication that he heard her. His deep soulless eyes stared straight ahead vacantly, his huge burlap chest heaving in and out with every breath he took.

Marie turned to the equally awestruck Trick-or-Treaters and instructed them in a hushed voice, "Quickly! Bring me the snake…I mean tongue so that he can speak!"

"Oh! Right…" Barrel chuckled sheepishly as he offered Marie the hissing, writhing cloth bag he had brought out of the Treehouse.

Marie opened the bag with trembling fingers and jumped back with a shriek of alarm as a very agitated black and yellow striped snake lunged at her.

"Is that a tiger snake?!" She demanded shrilly, thrusting the bag back into Barrel's stunned arms.

Barrel quickly closed the bag before the snake decided to either bite him or escape. "Yes. We weren't joking when we told you that Oogie had a poisonous tongue…" He stated with a sly grin.

Marie shuddered as she realized just how close she'd come to touching a highly-venomous serpent.

She narrowed her eye at Barrel reproachfully. "Well I'm not about to do all the work around here!" Marie gestured towards Oogie with her head before turning back to Barrel and ordering, "You put the snake in him!"

"As you wish Queen Marie." Barrel said with a shrug. He opened the cloth bag again and wrestled with the volatile serpent briefly as he tried to grab it behind its head. After a few tense seconds, Barrel finally managed to subdue the tiger snake and he carried to over to Oogie Boogie eagerly.

Oogie looked down and for a moment, his soulless eyes widened in recognition as Barrel stood on his tiptoes and offered the hissing snake to him. The Boogeyman blinked and leaned forward slightly, opening his mouth wide and permitting Barrel to reunite him with his serpentine tongue.

The snake stopped fighting in Barrel's grip instantly, its forked tongue flickering in and out searchingly as it slowly slithered into Oogie's open mouth. It was as if the serpent was under some powerful spell, drawn into the depths of the enchanted burlap sack like the insects had been earlier. Its consciousness had merged with Oogie's so that it was no longer a separate being. It had literally become a part of the Boogeyman!

With the final component in place, Marie and the children stood back and stared at the burlap-skinned monster with a mixture of reverence and expectation. They'd done it! After months of planning and painstaking preparation, they had finally resurrected Oogie Boogie!

Or at least that's what they _thought._

It didn't take long for Marie and the kids to realize that something wasn't quite right with their freshly-resurrected monster…

They held their breaths apprehensively and waited for Oogie to make a move or speak. But a full minute went by and still nothing had happened.

"What's going on? Is he frozen or something? Why hasn't he spoken yet?!" Lock asked, his devil's tail lashing from side to side impatiently.

Shock put her hands on her hips and glared at her two cohorts accusingly. "You guys must have done something wrong!"

Marie growled under her breath and directed her frustration at Barrel. "Barrel, sweetie? Oogie seems to be a bit tongue-tied, don't you agree?"

The creation's voice rose as she scolded the short Trick-or-Treater angrily. " **And you're the one who installed his tongue!** **Are you sure you gave him the right snake?!"**

Barrel's lip began to tremble as he pouted and folded his arms over his chest defiantly. "Of course I did! Don't yell at me! You're not my mom!"

"Oh I know! Maybe a kiss from a pretty princess will restore Oogie to his senses!" Shock suggested with a snicker.

"Yeah! Good thinking Shock!" Lock agreed with a toothy grin.

"It's definitely worth a try!" Barrel said eagerly, his former indignation all but forgotten.

All three kids turned to Marie and looked at her expectantly.

Marie stared back at them with a mortified expression. "Foolish children! How dare you mock me! I ought to teach you three a lesson you'll never forget…"

Suddenly, Marie trailed off as a revelation hit her like a slap in the face. She remembered reading something the other day about dark magic and resurrection spells and it gave her an ambitious idea…

"Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner?! If I can successfully recite a powerful resurrection spell, it might break the trance Oogie's currently in and revive him fully!" The blonde creation turned to Shock with a hopeful smile.

"You! Young witch! Do you know anything about casting spells?" She asked crudely.

Shock looked genuinely stunned by this request, but she managed to recover her wits quickly. "Do I look like I know how to cast spells?! I'm only seven! Witches aren't able to cast spells or practice magic until we reach a certain age!"

Shock smirked as she looked Marie up and down before adding sarcastically, "I'll have to wait until I'm really old, nearly as old as _you_ before I'm strong enough to cast spells!"

Lock and Barrel both snickered at this statement.

"Hey! Nice one Shock!" Lock whispered to the witch, flashing her a devilish thumbs-up gesture.

" _Humph! Why the nerve with that little brat! That's no way to speak to the new Queen of Halloween Town!"_ Marie thought to herself resentfully. But a part of her was also secretly impressed with the little witch's audacity and brazen attitude.

" _She's a fiery and outspoken little thing! Maybe she's not so different to me after all…"_ The blonde creation mused with a hint of fondness.

Marie offered Shock an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry my dear. I should have known better. I'll try to come up with a resurrection spell on my own and hopefully it will suffice…"

"Well? What are you waiting for then? Let's hear your _amazing_ spell already!" Lock urged the blonde creation. The devil folded his arms across his chest and tapped the ground with one foot impatiently.

"Don't rush me young devil!" Marie snapped irritably. "I am an expert in fashion, not sorcery!"

She turned around and faced Oogie. The Boogeyman stood as still as a statue, the only indication that he was alive being the steady movement of his burlap chest as he breathed and the occasional blink of his deep-set eyes.

Marie drew in a deep breath and touched the ruby jewels around her neck like she always did when she was nervous. "Okay, here goes nothing…"

Marie stared deep into Oogie's vacant eyes. She tried to make her voice sound as witchy and believable as possible as she began to recite a spell that she made up on the spot:

" _Hocus pocus! Wake-upus! Awaken and rise my Chosen One! Answer my call and come to me! Adore and serve me; Queen Marie, from now to eternity!"_

Marie finished her spell and glanced back at the children hopefully. Lock and Barrel were both snickering to themselves while Shock shook her head with disdain.

"That's definitely one of the lamest spells I ever heard…" The young witch mumbled to herself quietly.

All of a sudden, Marie registered a movement out of the corner of her eye. She heard a deep growl coming from behind her and she turned around to face the Boogeyman once more. Her heart began to beat faster and she felt her breath catch in her throat as she noticed that Oogie Boogie appeared to be staring at her intently. The blank look was gone from his deep black eyes. Instead he now looked fully alert and carefully contemplating his next move as he locked gazes with Marie.

The blonde creation felt chills running down her spine as she watched Oogie's snaky tongue flick out of his mouth briefly and hiss unnervingly.

"I don't believe it!" Marie heard Shock uttering from behind her in a small voice. "It actually worked! Oogie's alive again!"

Lock and Barrel cheered with elation and ran to welcome back their old Master. After a moment, Shock followed her cohorts with equal enthusiasm. Marie looked on in wonder as the three kids joined hands and started dancing around the Boogeyman. Their excited voices were carried on the night wind as they suddenly burst into song:

" _Welcome Master! We're so glad to have you back!_

 _Now it's time to get rid of skeleton Jack!_

 _Ragdoll Sally and Old Fink as well, together we'll send them all to hell!_

 _All to Queen Marie will bow and if not, we'll show them how!_

 _Our new King and Queen are here, so it's time for everyone to face their fear!"_

Marie stared at her burlap-skinned creation apprehensively as the kids wrapped up their song. Barrel stopped dancing and looked up at Oogie with a huge grin on his pale face.

"Mr. Oogie Boogie Man! Would you like to do some gambling now? I can go and fetch your favorite dice!" Barrel offered enthusiastically.

What Oogie did next shocked everyone speechless. The Boogeyman didn't express the slightest bit of interest in his former henchmen. Instead he walked past them as though they weren't even there and headed straight for Marie, his black eyes fixed on her obsessively and his gait full of purpose as he came closer and closer to the bewildered creation.

Marie's eyes grew wide with alarm and she promptly stuck her arm out in front of her to prevent the Boogeyman from coming any closer. Oogie came to a stop inches from her outstretched hand and smiled at her unsettlingly.

The deep black holes he had for eyes never deviated from her face as the Boogeyman opened his mouth and breathed in an enamored voice, "I can't believe my eyes! Am I still dead?! Is this Halloween Town, or _Heavenly Town?!_ Because you are the most divine creature I've ever seen!"

Marie blinked in confusion, her outstretched arm dropping to her side limply as she struggled to comprehend what Oogie had just told her.

Lock, Shock and Barrel stared at their former Master with their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

The three kids looked at one another and uttered in unison, "What the…?!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I hope you guys weren't put off by this yucky resurrection process! Unfortunately, Oogie is a vile creature and in order for Marie's plan to work, we needed to face those bugs sooner or later…oh and the snake of course! And the spiders! (I remember seeing in the movie that Oogie has some spiders inside of him along with the bugs even though I didn't specifically mention them here. But not to worry! They** **are** **there along with all the other creepy crawlies, I can assure you!)**

 **Even though he may be rotten on the inside, I've always considered Oogie to be a very interesting character. For one thing, he's got the coolest name in my opinion! The name** _ **Oogie Boogie**_ **just sounds so cute and innocent, especially for a walking potato sack that's anything but cute and harmless!** **He's also got an amazing singing voice, one of my favorites from the whole movie :)**

 **I'd like to give a special thank you to** _ **rainbowthefox, Hannah29K9**_ **and** _ **Tripledent**_ **for those wonderful reviews! Thanks guys! Your feedback always makes me smile and it really means a lot to me :)**

 **Thanks again to all the silent readers too for seeing this story through so far :)**

 **Now that Marie's plan is finally ready, let's see who will survive her evil plot…**

 **Svinorita.**


	6. I Adore, Mi Amore!

**Chapter 6 – I Adore,** _ **Mi Amore!**_

The past few weeks had been extremely busy for Sally. The majority of the Town's citizens happily supported her idea of a new festival being held on the 29th of February and the Mayor had finally granted her permission to begin the necessary preparations for the upcoming event.

Now there were less than two weeks to go before Sally's exciting idea became a reality and everything had been going according to plan…so far!

Many of the Town's citizens had offered to help Sally organize the activities for the upcoming festival and despite all the excitement and anticipation in the air, she still managed to keep her plan a secret from Jack. She had spoken to almost everyone else in Town and begged them not to tell the Pumpkin King of her plans until the big night!

Sally wanted the whole experience to be a surprise for Jack and everybody promised to go about their preparations as discreetly as possible. The ragdoll was hopeful that this new festival might remind their King of everything that was great about Halloween Town and snap him out of his melancholic mood for good!

But even with the other citizens sworn to secrecy, Sally quickly discovered that keeping her plan hidden from the Pumpkin King was going to be harder than she initially thought!

Ever since that incident with Marie a few weeks ago, Jack had barely let the ragdoll out of his sight! He had become extra-protective of her and vowed to keep her safe from now on…

Sally insisted that she would be okay and that Jack didn't have to follow her around like a skeletal shadow all the time. But the Pumpkin King wasn't going to take _"No"_ for an answer! If for whatever reason he was unable to personally watch over her at any given time, Jack ordered Zero to follow her around like a little ghostly guard dog and keep an eye on her.

So Sally was forced to carry out the bulk of her festival planning at night when both Jack and Zero were asleep. It was only then, when her two _protectors_ assumed that she was safe and sound in her bed, that Sally was free to sneak out of the Skellington Manor and check on the progress being made by the other townsfolk in regards to her secret plan...

Despite these challenges, Sally couldn't help feeling a euphoric sense of achievement when she saw how well everyone was helping her organize the event! All the children's activities had been rehearsed flawlessly. The Mayor, having a real passion for cooking, had volunteered to prepare all the food for the big night personally and some of the other male citizens were already training for the giant snake wrestling tournament (although they had wisely opted to hone their skills with smaller serpents for the time being!)

Sally suddenly chuckled to herself as she remembered how surprised Jack had looked this morning when he'd glanced out the window and saw a few of the Town's men running through the street whilst carrying their wives on their backs!

The Pumpkin King had tapped his chin with a bony finger and commented, "It looks like I'm not the only one going crazy in this Town lately…"

Sally had laughed in response. Then she'd taken his skeletal hand in hers and whispered to him gently, "No one is going crazy around here dearest. I told you that this Town is full of surprises and quirky inhabitants!"

All of a sudden, Sally's smile faded as she found herself thinking about Marie once again. She was still struggling to comprehend why her sister creation had wanted to hurt her. The incident with the guillotine had left more than a new set of stitches on her right arm. It had scarred the ragdoll psychologically as well…

Despite all the excitement of the upcoming festival, Marie was never far from Sally's thoughts these days. Try as she might, Sally couldn't get the awful image of her sister's sinister grin out of her head. She found herself constantly looking over her shoulder as though she expected to see Marie watching her from the shadows with that same cold, calculating look on her face.

Sally couldn't bring herself to face her sister ever since that awful day at the Observatory and as much as it broke her heart, she made the difficult decision to avoid her at all costs from now on.

The ragdoll felt a shudder roll down her spine as a disturbing thought flashed through her mind just as she was about to head out into the moonlit night.

" _Is it only a matter of time before she decides to come after me and finish off what she started?"_

XXX

Meanwhile, Dr. Finkelstein had grown increasingly bitter and frustrated with his latest creation over the past few weeks. The old scientist had built that fancy guillotine for Marie in the hopes that his efforts might improve their strained relationship. He had even dared to hope that his gift might make Marie a little more affectionate and loyal to him in the long run.

But the reality turned out to be the complete opposite!

Instead of spending more time with him like she'd initially promised, it seems that shortly after he'd made that guillotine for her, Marie had developed a somewhat "unhealthy" obsession with her new present. In fact, Dr. Finkelstein became convinced that the blonde creation was far more interested in polishing her precious guillotine rather than taking care of him these days!

The poor Old Doctor would call for her all morning to bring him his breakfast. Yet his creation hardly ever responded to his demands anymore. Each time Dr. Finkelstein went to investigate what was taking her so long, he always found her in her room, talking to her beloved guillotine in a voice that was filled with adoration.

Dr. Finkelstein felt himself growing weaker each passing day as a result of his creation's neglect towards him. In addition to the lack of food, he was feeling constantly tired lately - which eventually led him to suspect that Marie might be poisoning him like Sally used to! But he was also confused because each time he insisted that his creation taste his food before serving it to him, Marie obliged willingly. He watched her sample his soups and stews without hesitation and he never witnessed her suffering any ill effects afterwards.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for him…

Dr. Finkelstein also got the impression that Marie was disappearing somewhere after he fell asleep each night. He would occasionally wake up and call for her during the night, but she never seemed to be around lately. He also noticed that his glasses weren't on top of his bedside dresser like they used to be and his wheelchair was parked inconveniently in the far corner. This bothered the old man greatly since only way he could reach it without Marie's assistance, would be by rolling out of bed and physically dragging himself across the floor by his hands!

In the end, the old scientist called weakly to Marie a few more times from his bed before eventually drifting off to sleep again. He was still feeling unwell and unbelievably tired…

XXX

It was well past midnight by the time Marie snuck out of the Observatory. She wanted to make absolutely certain that Dr. Finkelstein had fallen into a deep sleep before heading off to her nightly rendezvous with Lock, Shock and Barrel at the Treehouse.

Nearly a week had gone by since Marie and her three co-conspirators had successfully resurrected Oogie Boogie and the blonde creation was very disappointed by the way her secret weapon had been acting so far.

Lock, Shock and Barrel had told her countless stories of Oogie's alleged reign of terror prior to his defeat by Jack last year, stories that had initially filled Marie with very high expectations. The kids had led her to believe that Oogie had been a sadistic and voraciously power-hungry Boogeyman who greatly enjoyed gambling with the lives of others. Apparently he used to love torturing his unfortunate victims before eventually turning them into the main ingredients of his infamous snake and spider stew…

But instead of this ruthless killing machine Marie had come to envision in her mind, the creature she had reincarnated had turned out to be nothing more than a stinking, blubbering burlap-clad moron that followed her around everywhere, constantly proclaiming his love and devotion to her!

Marie had approached Lock, Shock and Barrel about the issue the other night. After all, she had entrusted the Trio with the task of training Oogie Boogie and reminding him of what he really was…a merciless, cold-blooded monster! Not a blubbering, love-struck idiot!

Marie hoped that tonight the kids would have more promising news to enlighten her with concerning Oogie's progress...

It was shortly after 1 AM when she arrived at the Treehouse. The moon was partially hidden behind some clouds and the stars were glinting like diamonds in the night sky as she approached what had practically become like a second home to her over this past week.

Upon her arrival tonight, Marie found Lock, Shock and Barrel already waiting for her outside. The blonde creation marched up to the kids and didn't bother greeting them as she looked around impatiently.

"Where is Oogie?! Has he come to his senses yet?!" She demanded brashly.

Shock took off her green Trick-or-Treating mask and glared at Marie critically. "I'd like to know that myself. Because that _thing_ you revived is definitely not our old Master!"

The little witch folded her arms over her chest, her mouth pulled in a sneer as she added accusingly, "You obviously did something wrong! He's been acting like an infatuated lovesick servant of yours ever since we brought him back to life!"

"What could _I_ have possibly done wrong?!" Marie stared at the kids incredulously. "All I did was repair the burlap sack you gave me and take good care of that disgusting white grub…" She threw her arms into the air dramatically before continuing in an irritated tone, "You three insisted that grub was _The Bug_ …that it contained the essence of Oogie's spirit! I looked after it with absolute devotion! I never let it out of my sight for long and sometimes I even talked to it with the utmost affection!"

The three kids exchanged uncomfortable looks as they listened to Marie's explanation.

"Oh no!" Lock groaned, slapping his forehead with disdain. "That might be the problem!"

"What are you talking about?!" Marie placed her hands on her hips and tried to look intimidating. But she was unable to completely hide the nervous edge in her voice.

Lock snickered to himself, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness unsettlingly. "You see, Oogie never experienced love or kindness before. You brought this on yourself!"

"What?!" Marie gasped in disbelief.

Lock gave her a devilish grin and insisted, "You were supposed to be cruel and unforgiving to that grub!"

"Yeah! Instead of talking to it affectionately, you should have sworn at it and kicked the box around a few times!" Shock lectured with a teasing cackle.

"Maybe you should have spat on it every now and then to make it really angry and resentful!" Barrel pointed out with a smirk.

Marie raised a hand to her mouth, her face slowly turning red from embarrassment as she realized the enormity of her mistake. "Why didn't you three tell me this before?!" She uttered in a shrill voice.

"Well we just assumed that you would know what to do." Shock replied with a casual shrug.

"Yeah! Don't take this the wrong way Queen Marie, but you don't exactly come across as someone who is capable of loving anyone." Lock stated truthfully.

"Except maybe yourself…" Barrel muttered under his breath.

By now, Marie's rage had reached a boiling point. She dug her fingernails into her palms and gritted her teeth tightly as she glared daggers at the three Trick-or-Treaters.

"RIGHT! WHERE IS HE?! BRING THAT MORON TO ME AT ONCE!" Marie demanded furiously.

"We have to keep him locked up in the basement." Shock explained calmly, throwing a casual glance in the direction of the pit surrounding the Treehouse.

"We tried everything we could think of to get him acting like his old self again!" Barrel told the agitated creation nervously. "We offered him his dice and tried to rekindle his passion for gambling. But he just isn't interested one bit!"

"We even volunteered to bring back someone for him to torture. But he didn't care about that either!" Lock said with a disappointed sigh.

"Yeah! All he cares about is _you!"_ Shock informed Marie in a provoking tone.

Suddenly, the little witch's eyes lit up and she grinned at the startled creation teasingly. "Oogie is so obsessed with you, that he even drew a picture of you the other day! He stares at that drawing for hours and talks to it as if it's a real person!"

"He pretends that drawing is really you and we heard him expressing his love to it in every known language!" Lock added tauntingly.

Barrel nodded in confirmation. "Then he hugged that drawing and started dancing with it! He even made up a romantic song for you!"

The short Trick-or-Treater cleared his throat and began reciting cheerfully, "It goes something like this _: I adore, mi amore! We're going to be together forever…"_

Marie screwed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead with a despairing groan. She could feel a pounding headache coming on as Lock and Shock joined in with Barrel's singing enthusiastically.

"ENOUGH!" The blonde creation interrupted the children irately, her fists balled at her sides and her teeth clenched in frustration. "LET ME SEE THAT PIECE OF PAPER IMMEDIATELY!"

Lock took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it to Shock. The little witch handed it to Marie with a satisfied smirk.

Marie unfolded the piece of paper and stared at the drawing with a mixture of disbelief and horror. An ugly black stick-figure with huge bright red lips and yellow hair occupied the center of the page. There was also a circle of red beads around the stick-figure's neck, with a smaller red circle around its left arm...

Marie's hand started to tremble as she gripped the piece of paper. Her eyes went wide and her mouth twisted into a snarl of disapproval as she looked up at the three snickering Trick-or-Treaters.

"Is this really supposed to be me?!" She demanded in a disgusted voice.

"Yes! It's you all right!" Shock snorted without hesitation.

Marie held up the picture and waved it at the kids accusingly. "I don't believe it! Surely a full-grown Boogeyman wouldn't draw something as stupid as this!"

The blonde creation shook the piece of paper violently and raised her voice angrily at them. "Stop mocking me children! Which one of you really did this?!"

Shock folded her arms defiantly. "I can draw better with my eyes closed!"

Lock grimaced distastefully. "I wouldn't waste my time on drawing!"

"I don't even know how to hold a pencil!" Barrel protested defensively.

Marie's face turned as red as the trout pout lips in the drawing. "This is utterly unacceptable!"

"Well Oogie was never renowned for his artistic skills before." Lock offered with a snicker.

"Besides, the guy doesn't even have proper hands! He probably drew that with his tongue!" Shock suggested with a sly grin.

"I WON'T BE HUMILIATED LIKE THIS! I AM THE QUEEN!" Marie thundered irately. She threw the drawing on the ground with contempt and jabbed a finger towards the Treehouse. "BRING THAT IDIOT TO ME RIGHT NOW!"

"As you wish Queen Marie." Barrel said obediently. He turned and walked off towards the cage-shaped elevator with Lock and Shock following closely behind him.

Marie watched as the elevator lowered the kids down into the pit, where they climbed into the basement through a small window and disappeared from view. A few seconds later, she heard a commotion coming from inside the basement followed by a few creative curse words from the kids. Then the cable supporting the elevator creaked and groaned alarmingly as something heavy was shoved into the cage and the elevator began to ascend slowly to the surface once more.

Moments later, the elevator rose into view and Marie saw Oogie's hulking burlap form sitting in the cage while Lock, Shock and Barrel dangled precariously from the outside of the elevator. The blonde creation retched and covered her nose with her arm as the wind carried the putrid scent of Oogie's body odor towards her.

As soon as he heard her coughing, Oogie's eyes lit up with adoration. He nearly broke the elevator's door off its hinges as he charged out of the cage like a burlap-clad rhinoceros and headed straight for the object of his desire. Lock, Shock and Barrel cried out in alarm and clung to the cage for dear life as the force of Oogie's abrupt exit sent the elevator swinging back and forth over the abyss violently.

Oogie Boogie ignored the sharp insults the kids hurled at him as they climbed down to safety once the cage finally stopped swaying. He only had eyes and ears for Marie! The love-struck Boogeyman ran towards her with outstretched arms, nearly tripping over his own feet twice along the way as he crossed the flimsy bridge and closed in on her like a clumsy, burlap Casanova.

"My love! My gorgeous angel! I adore, mi amore!" Oogie panted breathlessly.

Marie felt like she would pass out from a combination of shock and Boogeyman B.O.

"Stay away from me you big, smelly oaf! Who do you think you are?!" The blonde creation shrieked with rising panic. She started running away from the enamored Boogeyman as fast as her high heeled boots could carry her.

Unfortunately, Oogie turned out to be very persistent. He barely skipped a beat as he continued pursuing her over the barren ground relentlessly.

"Wait! We belong together! I just want to hold you in my arms! I'll even sing for you mi amore!" Oogie called whilst chasing Marie around the base of the Treehouse in a tireless circle.

The three Trick-or-Treaters were laughing hysterically as they watched the drama unfolding from the sidelines. Oogie started singing his love song to Marie as he chased after her, his voice powerful and filled with passion. Marie kept repeating "What have I done?!" as she desperately tried to get away from the serenading Boogeyman.

Shock wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes with one hand, her shrill witch cackle filling the night air. "Oh boy! I'm going to die from laughter! Oogie is such a hopeless romantic!"

"You'd better look out Queen Marie!" Lock snickered teasingly. "Oogie thinks he's your Romeo and you are most definitely a damsel in distress!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Isn't love grand? It seems you can find it in unexpected places and sometimes even in the hearts of unexpected creatures…**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this "romantic" chapter! Thank you so much to** _ **Hannah29K9**_ **and** _ **Tripledent**_ **for the awesome reviews to the previous chapter! You guys rock :)**

 **Thanks once again to all the silent readers for tuning in too and I hope you all decide to stick around for future chapters :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	7. The Final Countdown

**Chapter 7 – The Final Countdown.**

It was nearly dawn and Marie was still waiting anxiously for Lock, Shock and Barrel to arrive back at the Treehouse. She had been dispatching the Trick-or-Treaters to spy on Jack and Sally every day over the past week. Marie had given them strict orders to report the Pumpkin King's every move to her while she carefully plotted her next course of action.

Marie knew that she needed to carry out her ambitious plan very soon. The inaugural night of Sally's new leap year festival was less than a week away and the power-hungry creation was running out of time! She had to find a way to get rid of Jack and Sally before then.

Only once Jack had been thoroughly dealt with, would she be able to seize the throne from the Pumpkin King once and for all. Then she would let everyone know that she was their new Queen by announcing her coronation in front of the whole Town on the night of the festival!

As for Sally…

Marie knew that the ragdoll would raise the alarm and do everything in her power to intervene if she found out that the blonde creation intended to dispose of Jack Skellington. Marie felt she had no alternative. Sally had to be silenced permanently if she wanted her takeover plot to succeed and she wasn't about to let the fact that they were sisters stop her from doing what needed to be done in order to achieve her goal!

Yet despite her obvious contempt for her sister creation, Marie couldn't help feeling secretly pleased when she saw that Sally had decided to use many of her suggestions for the carnival. She had noticed some of the Town's citizens stashing various props and equipment for the upcoming festival in Town Hall when she looked out her bedroom window from the Observatory, including wooden ladders and what appeared to be crates filled with large, foul-tempered serpents…

Marie shook her head and begrudgingly turned her attention back to her current dilemma. She had faced some major setbacks in her takeover plot lately and she was reaching the end of her already limited patience! To say that her "Plan A" had been falling short of expectations would be a huge understatement…

As if that wasn't frustrating enough, Marie also got an eerie feeling that Dr. Finkelstein had been sending that dimwitted assistant of his, Igor to follow her around and spy on her. The Doctor denied these allegations of course, but Marie had no other explanation for why she kept running into the babbling hunchback more than usual over these last couple of days. She always knew that Igor had never been one of her greatest fans, so Marie found it suspicious that he always seemed to be lurking at the edges of her peripheral vision lately…

Marie sighed and drummed her fingers on a small wooden table impatiently as she sat in the dank, smelly basement below the Treehouse with her so-called "deadly assassin." No matter how hard she kept trying to get her words through to his tiny, bug-infested brain, Oogie just continued staring at her like a love-struck fool and persisted in declaring his love for her!

"Have you been paying attention to _anything_ I've said to you just now?!" Marie asked Oogie with a deep sigh of frustration.

She grimaced suddenly as a familiar pain flared up behind her eyes, (probably the result of being cooped up in this foul-smelling dungeon alongside an enamored Boogeyman with serious personal hygiene issues for several hours now…)

The blonde creation groaned and rubbed her forehead with one hand in an attempt to soothe the throbbing pain in her temples. "I'm beginning to get a headache from the rotten stench down here and the sooner you understand my plan, the better!"

Oogie gave her an adoring smile. His usually deep, powerful voice sounded soft with affection as he replied through a dreamy daze, "Of course I've been paying attention to you, my gorgeous angel! I literally can't take my eyes off you!"

"Yes I know! How could I possibly fail to notice you staring at me like an infatuated fool?!" Marie rebuked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and prompted in a dangerously level voice, "But did anything actually sink into that tiny brain of yours…?"

Oogie stared at her with a blank expression.

Marie let out a frustrated sigh. "I bet you can't repeat anything I said, can you?! Even a goldfish with a memory span of 3 seconds would have memorized my plan by now!"

Oogie blinked at her apologetically. Suddenly his face lit up with excitement and he declared proudly, "I _have_ been paying attention my love! You want me to get rid of Jack and Sally!"

"And?" Marie waved her hand impatiently.

Oogie looked at her with a confused expression. "You want me to get rid of Sandy Claws as well…?" He ventured hesitantly.

Marie slapped her forehead in exasperation. "I knew it! You weren't listening to me, you brainless oaf!"

She took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth. "Dr. Finkelstein! We have to get rid of him as well!" Marie reminded him for the umpteenth time.

"Ah him!" Oogie exclaimed with surprise. "That old dinosaur is still alive?!"

Marie nodded sympathetically, as though she herself couldn't quite understand how come her creator hadn't succumbed to old age yet. He might look frail, but sometimes Marie got the impression that Dr. Finkelstein was indestructible – surely someone as old as him shouldn't be breathing still?!

A determined look appeared in Oogie's hollow eyes. He placed a fingerless burlap hand on his chest, close to the spot where his heart should have been (had Oogie actually possessed a heart…) and promised Marie devoutly, "Of course I'll help you get rid of him, my love! The sooner you become the new Queen of Halloween Town, the sooner I can worship and adore you even more!"

Marie rolled her eyes and thought, _"Is it even possible for you to adore me more than you already do?!"_

But the blonde creation managed to keep her voice level and calm as she insisted, "Thanks. But I think I can deal with that old fool on my own. Your job is to get rid of Sally…"

"And I mean _properly_ this time!" Marie hinted warningly. She curled her lip in disapproval before adding, "I don't want a repeat of the fiasco that occurred the last time you tried to dispose of Sally!"

"Consider it done my love!" Oogie boasted with a confident smile.

Suddenly, the Boogeyman clasped his stubby burlap hands together and looked down with what Marie could only describe as embarrassment.

"Do you suppose I could keep one of Sally's legs as a souvenir?" Oogie ventured in a low, uncertain voice.

Marie shot him an annoyed look. "Mm…" Despite her obvious irritation of constantly finding herself at the center of Oogie's unwanted affections, a small part of her couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy at this outrageous request.

But on the other hand, if Oogie wanted to play with Sally's leg, maybe he wouldn't follow her around like a smelly, fat shadow all the time...

Finally, Marie nodded in acceptance. "That's okay I guess."

The blonde creation waved her finger in his face and added sternly, "As long as you don't get too attached to it! You are a grown Boogeyman! You're too old to be playing with dolls!"

Oogie gave a disturbing laugh and rubbed his hands together in glee. "Oh thank you, my love! I promise that I won't become obsessed with it! You are the only one for me!"

" _Lucky me…"_ Marie thought to herself tartly.

"Okay, I'm glad that's been settled." Marie regarded the Boogeyman with a deathly-serious expression. "Now I need you to give me your full attention because this next bit is really important…"

"I'm all ears!" Oogie replied with a charming smile.

Marie took a deep breath. Her eyes were filled with loathing as she stated icily, "Our first course of action will be to dispose of Jack Skellington once and for all."

Oogie gave her a slightly puzzled look. "But how are we supposed to do that, my Queen? He's already dead!"

"And you think I don't know that?!" Marie snapped irritably.

She turned her nose up at Oogie and declared aloofly, "That's why I'm the brains and you're the muscle behind this operation! Since we can't kill Jack, we need a different approach to get him out of the picture for good. And I've thought of just the thing!"

A wicked grin appeared on Marie's face as she leaned across the table and boasted, "I've heard that Jack loved everything about Christmas Town when he went there last year and it gave me a brilliant idea! If we can lure him back there somehow, maybe we could trap him in Christmas Town permanently!"

Marie laughed evilly, causing Oogie Boogie to blink in surprise. The blonde creation's eyes glinted malevolently in the dim light of the basement and she leaned closer to the Boogeyman. She was so close now that Oogie could feel her breath on his burlap face and smell her alluring perfume. He closed his eyes and inhaled her divine scent as she continued speaking in a commanding voice.

"As soon as Jack arrives at the Holiday Doors in the woods, I need you to sneak up behind him and push him through the Christmas Door! Then I want you to help me seal the door properly! We have to weld it shut so he can never get out again!" Marie sat back with a satisfied smile. Clearly she was feeling extremely pleased with her plan and thought it couldn't possibly fail…

Oogie opened his eyes and sighed dreamily. "What about Sandy Claws? Do we get rid of him too…?" He uttered distractedly.

"He is of no concern to me!" Marie snapped. A few strands of blonde hair had come loose at some point during her speech and she flicked them out of her face irritably with one hand. "He can stay there with Jack for all I care! After all, that fat old grandpa had a decent run! Maybe it's time for him to retire!"

The blonde creation waved her hand dismissively. "Christmas is so overrated anyway!"

Oogie didn't say anything. He just kept staring at the divine creature sitting in front of him with the utmost admiration.

"Are we all clear then?" Marie gave the Boogeyman a questioning look. She narrowed her eye and tested to see whether he finally understood what she expected him to do. "Can you tell me who you're supposed to get rid of…?"

Oogie blinked with slight confusion. "You want me to get rid of Sally."

"But I'm allowed to keep her leg as a trophy…" He ventured hesitantly.

"And?!" Marie prompted impatiently.

Oogie looked at her hopefully. "Sandy Claws…?"

Marie slammed her fist on the wooden table and Oogie flinched at the sudden fury in her voice. "WILL YOU DELETE SANDY CLAWS FROM THAT TINY BRAIN ALREADY?! IT'S JACK YOU MORON! YOU NEED TO HELP ME GET RID OF JACK!"

Before Oogie could reply, Marie held up a hand to silence him. She rubbed her aching forehead with one hand and groaned in frustration.

"Let's go through this for 151st time…"She sighed tiredly and began repeating her plan to Oogie without looking up at him.

Oogie sighed longingly and propped his elbows on the table as he listened to Marie's angelic voice. He rested his face in his hand and resumed watching her with pure adoration.

XXX

Sally was finally beginning to feel more at ease. The festival was only a week away and she was extremely pleased to see that everything was falling nicely into place. By the look of it, her idea was shaping up to be a spectacular event! Everyone had been so helpful with the preparations and Sally sensed that they were all really excited about the upcoming event!

She hoped that this festival would be a celebration of their Town and that it might bring happiness not only to Jack, but to everyone who called Halloween Town home! It might even become a new Town tradition; something for all of them to look forward to aside from their annual foray into the outside world to scare humans on Halloween night…

So far, Sally had managed to keep her secret from Jack. But over the past week, the ragdoll kept getting the unsettling feeling that she was being watched. The creepy sensation had made her really jumpy at first, but she never actually noticed anyone following her and in the end, she wrote it off as her tired mind playing tricks on her. She hadn't been getting enough sleep lately as a result of trying to organize everything in time for the festival, so maybe she was just imagining things!

Had Sally been a bit more vigilant, she may have noticed three small figures watching her from the shadows, their Trick-or-Treating masks concealing the devious smiles on their little faces as they carried out their top-secret surveillance mission…

XXX

Dr. Finkelstein was growing increasingly suspicious about Marie's nightly excursions. He could sense that something definitely wasn't right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why his creation had been acting so strangely lately. What he _did_ know for sure was that Marie appeared colder than usual in her attitude towards him and she made it painfully clear that she didn't want to be around him any longer than was absolutely necessary…

Dr. Finkelstein was becoming seriously concerned for his welfare, so he ordered Igor to spy on his treacherous creation and discover exactly where she had been disappearing to every night lately. In fact, the Doctor was waiting for his hunchbacked assistant to return with an update right now as he sat by his bedroom window and gazed at the early morning sky outside.

Realistically, he didn't have very high expectations that Igor would return with useful information regarding Marie's whereabouts. He knew that his assistant was always trying to please him (he had trained him to be unquestionably loyal and co-operative after all!) Unfortunately Igor wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and he tended to have a pretty short attention span. Then again, Igor's brain wasn't even the size of a walnut - more like a pistachio…

About half an hour later, Igor shuffled into the Doctor's room clumsily and the old scientist turned his wheelchair around to face him. Igor stared at the floor uncomfortably, his hands clasped together as he stood like a gargoyle statue by the door while the Doctor looked at him expectantly.

"Well? Don't just stand there like gatepost! Where did Marie go?!" Dr. Finkelstein demanded impatiently.

Igor avoided making eye-contact with his master. His voice came out in a nervous stutter as he offered, "T-T-Treehouse…"

The Doctor waved his arm restlessly. "And? What was she doing over there?!"

"Probably playing…" Igor said with a shrug.

"Playing with who?!" Dr. Finkelstein snapped irritably.

Igor looked up at his master hesitantly. "Maybe kids who live there…"

"Maybe? Maybe?!" The Doctor was beginning to get seriously annoyed by now. "Maybe pigs can fly and unicorns really do exist!"

Dr. Finkelstein maneuvered his wheelchair closer to the hunchback and pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Or maybe you didn't bother to check properly and see who Marie was supposedly _playing_ with!"

Igor looked down guiltily. He stuck a finger in his mouth absently and tried to dislodge something from in-between his teeth.

Dr. Finkelstein watched him with mounting irritation. "Let me guess…she gave you a biscuit treat and you were so busy munching on it that you forgot about your mission!"

Igor looked downright scared now. He took an instinctive step back and stammered, "S-sorry master! Igor like biscuit…"

The Doctor shook his head and sighed with frustration. "Serves me right for trusting a simpleton to do a genius' job…"

XXX

Back at the Treehouse, Marie was getting equally fed-up with explaining her plan to Oogie Boogie. She decided to call it a night and try again tomorrow (or the night after that judging by the current rate at which things seemed to be progressing…)

Right now she was feeling exhausted and she seriously needed to get some beauty sleep before her needy old creator woke up and started making demands for her attention all day!

Ironically, as she walked back through Town and headed towards the Observatory, Marie was unaware that she was thinking along the same lines as her creator when she mumbled under her breath, "Serves me right for resurrecting an idiot and expecting him to do a genius' job…"

Then again, the longer Marie thought about it, the more reassured she became by the notion that if she had to do the majority of the work herself, her plan _would_ succeed. She just had to convince Oogie to do the dirty work while she took care of the rest!

Marie rubbed her hands together and stifled a wicked laugh as she told herself _"By this time next week, I will be Queen of this Town! Jack doesn't deserve to lead us anymore! He's become soft and misguided over the years, but I will usher in a new age of terror and remind everyone of what true fear is really like!"_

The first rays of the morning sun were just starting to poke through the clouds as Marie walked through the deserted streets with renewed motivation.

" _The festival is getting closer, so let the final countdown begin…"_ She thought with a sinister grin.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I'd like to thank the following people for their wonderful reviews:**

 _ **Hannah29K9**_ **– Thanks so much for the delightful feedback! It's wonderful to hear that you can picture the scenes as you're reading through the chapter! That's something I'm always striving for in my stories and it's also nice to know that I'm managing to keep everyone in character with the dialogue (more or less :)**

 _ **rainbowthefox**_ **– That's okay my friend! I understand that you've been busy with your own stories lately and I'm touched to receive your feedback :)** **As for how Oogie will react to Jack when he sees him? Well that's coming up very shortly…**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– I really loved the comparison you made between Oogie Boogie and Pepe Le Pew! Why didn't I think of that before?! It works brilliantly because they're both such amorous and smelly creatures… As for how Marie manages to test Dr. Finkelstein's food without experiencing any ill effects herself? Well I'm hoping to answer that in the upcoming chapters :)**

 **Once again, thank you to all the silent readers for your support too! I hope you decide to stick around and see what happens next because Marie will be launching phase one of her plan very soon…**

 **Svinorita.**


	8. Bad to the Bone

**Chapter 8 – Bad to the Bone.**

Sally waited a little longer than usual before sneaking out of the house that night. She wanted to be absolutely certain that Jack was sound asleep before she headed to Town Hall in order to make her final preparations for the big festival tomorrow night.

A crisp night wind blew through the ragdoll's long reddish-brown hair like ghostly hands reaching for her in the dark as she hurried along the narrow path and made her way towards the large, silent building in the center of Town. But Sally wasn't bothered by the eerie chill in the air. Her usual sense of premonition was dulled by the excitement she felt for the upcoming event!

In other words, she was blissfully unaware of the evil forces at work around her that night…

Lock, Shock and Barrel followed their target from a short distance behind. The wily young Trick-or-Treaters were careful to remain hidden from view as they tracked Sally from the shadows cast by the trees and buildings. In addition to this, the kids were greatly aided by their short statures (which helped them blend inconspicuously into their surroundings even more!)

This was just as well because they were under strict orders from Marie to monitor Sally's every move and make sure she stayed out of the way at all costs! For tonight, the would-be Queen of Halloween Town was finally ready to act on her evil plan…

Marie knew that Jack Skellington was the greatest threat to her rise to power, so she decided to focus on getting rid of him first. She convinced herself that once the Pumpkin King was finally out of the way for good, everything else should be child's play in comparison!

The blonde creation waited impatiently at the Treehouse with her "secret weapon"; Oogie Boogie and ran her plan by him one final time. When Lock, Shock and Barrel finally returned a short time later and confirmed that Sally was busy carrying out festival preparations in Town Hall with most of the other citizens, Marie set her own plan into motion.

Hopefully by this time tomorrow, she would be the new ruler of Halloween Town!

XXX

Jack was awoken by the sound of his doorbell shrieking around 1AM. The Pumpkin King groaned with mild annoyance as he turned over in bed and tried to get back to sleep. He was feeling very content in his nice, warm bed and he had no desire to get up whatsoever! Besides, Jack suspected that the sound had probably woken Sally too. The ragdoll tended to be a rather light sleeper and he was secretly praying that she would go see who was at the door at some point so he didn't have to!

But whoever was at the door turned out to be very persistent. They kept ringing the bell relentlessly and the shrieking seemed to intensify as it reverberated throughout the Skellington mansion. The sound finally jolted Jack out of his slumber with a start. He couldn't explain why, but the Pumpkin King suddenly got a very bad feeling in his bones that something was seriously wrong! He threw off his quilt and leapt out of bed before hurrying out of his room with a sense of urgency.

As he walked through the narrow hallway, Jack started calling Sally's name worriedly. But she didn't answer...

He checked her room and was surprised to see that she wasn't there. Her bed was neatly made and looked as though it hadn't been touched since last night, which sent the Pumpkin King into a heightened state of panic.

He sprinted down the hall on his long skeletal legs and headed for the front door, unlocking it and throwing it open before bursting outside still wearing his beige pajamas. Jack glanced around the courtyard at the front of his house frantically, but no one was there. Whoever had been ringing his doorbell earlier, had mysteriously vanished into the dark shortly before Jack had thrown open the door and stepped out.

The Pumpkin King gave a flustered sigh as he turned around and went back inside. But as he was closing the door behind him, Jack noticed something sticking out from beneath the door and he paused rigidly. There was a small piece of paper lying on the floor in the doorway...

Jack stooped down and snatched the page off the floor with his bony fingers, unfolding it curiously. His eye sockets widened in surprise as he realized that it was a note addressed to him!

The message was a little hard to read because it was riddled with spelling mistakes and the handwriting looked awfully childish. Still, Jack didn't have too much trouble deciphering it and as he read the note, he felt a shiver roll down his spine:

 _ **If yu want to se yur prescios Saly agan, com to the holyday dors at dawn! If yu don't sho up, Saly wil be reduced to a pile of leafs and cloth!**_

Apparently whoever had written the note wasn't very bright, because they had started to sign their name at the bottom of the page, before thinking better of it and drawing several thick lines through the initials in order to obscure them.

 _ **Neva mind! Just do it or yu wil neva se Saly agan!**_

Jack stared at the note in disbelief. Normally, he would have disregarded it without a second thought. Given the overall childish appearance of the writing, Jack wanted to believe that it was nothing more than one of the Town's youngsters playing a nasty little prank on him.

" _But what if it's not a prank?"_ Jack thought with a deepening sense of dread as he re-read the message one more time.

" _What if Sally really is in grave danger?! I have to find her before it's too late…"_

Jack quickly summoned Zero to his side and the two of them headed towards the Holiday Doors in the heart of the Hinterlands without delay. If someone really had taken Sally and tried to harm her, Jack wanted to make sure that sorry creature experienced the full wrath of the Pumpkin King!

XXX

At around the same time as Jack discovered the disturbing note on his doorstep, Marie went back to the Observatory to check on Dr. Finkelstein. The blonde creation was greatly relieved when she crept into the old scientist's room and found that he was still unconscious in his wheelchair, just the way she'd left him several hours earlier.

In fact the Doctor was so still, that for a moment Marie thought he might even be dead! She actually had to hold her makeup mirror under his nose just to confirm whether he was still breathing.

Unfortunately he _was._ Marie fought back a sigh of disappointment as she watched the glass fogging up with every weak exhalation her creator made.

" _The old fool really is indestructible!"_ Marie mused with contempt as she put her makeup mirror away. She took hold of the back of the Doctor's wheelchair and began pushing him out of the room and down the hall towards her own room.

She had been steadily poisoning him with Deadly Nightshade for weeks now, but apart from making the Doctor feel tired and crankier than usual, Marie wasn't getting the results she had hoped for. On top of that, he was irritating her by constantly demanding that she taste his food in front of him before he swallowed a spoonful. Then again, deceiving the Doctor had turned out to be easier than Marie had initially foreseen!

The old fool may be a genius, but he was immensely gullible! After all, Sally had successfully deceived him countless times in the past by using a slotted spoon whenever she "tasted" his soups and Marie had been implementing the same technique to allay her creator's suspicions that his food had been spiked with poison. It worked like a charm! The old fool was none the wiser and the slotted spoon meant that the poison never touched Marie's lips as she "tasted" it in front of the Doctor before serving it to him.

But to Marie's disappointment, the poison just wasn't killing him fast enough! So the blonde creation decided that tonight, she would speed up the process significantly…

In addition to the Nightshade, Marie had slipped some valerian and lavender oil into the Doctor's tea prior to meeting her co-conspirators at the Treehouse earlier tonight. She wanted to be absolutely certain that her creator remained comatose while she was out and that he would be completely helpless when she planned his execution upon her return to the Observatory.

That's why she had deliberately left him slumped in his wheelchair tonight instead of moving him to his bed like she usually did when he passed out after she had given him his Nightshade-laced tea…

Marie pushed open the door to her room with one hand and carefully wheeled the Doctor towards the guillotine near her desk. She did a quick check to make sure the blade was suspended in position and the execution chord was wound up tightly, ready to send the lethal blade plunging down at the slightest flick of her wrist.

Marie turned to face her creator and regarded him with a cold, calculating expression. She didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse as she slid her hands under the old man's arms and lifted him out of his wheelchair. The Doctor was completely unaware of the mortal danger he was in. The potent mix of Nightshade and valerian kept him heavily sedated as his treacherous creation dragged him towards the guillotine and carefully positioned his neck directly underneath the razor-sharp blade.

He was utterly at Marie's mercy. The creation to whom he had given life to a little over a year ago was now mere moments away from ending his forever…

Marie looked at her creator with a cruel smile. _"This is the end of the line you old fool! Once I have disposed of you along with Jack and Sally, nothing will stop me from becoming the new ruler of this Town!"_

The smile on her face grew wider and Marie let out a spine-chilling laugh. "Goodbye, Doctor _Fickle Stain!_ It's lights out for you…permanently!"

Just as Marie was reaching for the execution chord, she heard someone knocking loudly at the front door.

The blonde creation cursed as she glanced at the clock in the corner of the room.

"That brainless moron shouldn't be here yet! I told him to wait at the Treehouse until the kids had delivered his stupid note to Jack's house!" Marie let out a frustrated groan and balled her fists tightly at her sides.

She shot the Doctor a withering look and mumbled, "I'll deal with you very shortly…"

Marie left her creator under the guillotine and stomped out the room, cursing furiously under her breath as she walked down the winding ramp and went to answer the door. She knew exactly who was at the door even before she opened it and she quickened her pace, knowing full well that her "knight in smelly burlap" might burst into song at any second and wake up the whole darn Town!

Fortunately, Marie made it just in time! She unlocked the deadbolt and flung open the front door just as Oogie Boogie opened his mouth and was about to launch into a passionate serenade for his beloved.

As soon as he saw her, Oogie gasped as though the sight of her took his breath away and he smiled in adoration. "There you are my gorgeous angel! I was just about to sing a very special song for you…"

But Marie wasn't listening to the amorous Boogeyman. She poked her head out of the doorway and looked around frantically to make sure no one had seen them. Then she grabbed Oogie by one hand and dragged him inside hastily.

"Get in before anyone sees you!" She hissed through her teeth, slamming the door shut behind them. "I really don't need you ruining my reputation any more than you already have!"

Oogie blinked in surprise as Marie let go of his hand and glared at him reproachfully.

The Boogeyman shrugged and whispered in a voice that was soft with affection, "If it were up to me, my angel, we would already be married and I'd make sure your reputation remained intact forever!"

Marie stared at Oogie with disbelief. She really didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the prospect of marrying this smelly, obnoxious creature!

The blonde creation struggled to regain her imposing composure as she quickly changed the subject.

She crossed her arms over her chest and regarded the Boogeyman with disapproval. "You're early! I was just about to…"

"Kiss me perhaps…?" Oogie ventured hopefully.

Marie made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, her top lip curling up in a sneer to signal her disgust. "In your dreams!"

She pointed towards her room on the second floor and snapped, "I was just about to dispatch Old Fink when you interrupted me!"

"Oh…" Suddenly, Oogie's face lit up with excitement and he rubbed his stubby burlap hands together eagerly. "Let me help you, my angel! I want to get rid of him so he won't ever come between us again!"

"Don't you dare lay a hand on him!" Marie ordered threateningly. "He's mine, you hear! He created me, so he deserves an honorable and civilized death by _my_ hand!"

With that, Marie turned and started walking back towards her room with Oogie following loyally behind. As soon as they entered the room, Oogie was surprised to find the Doctor snoring away with his head resting on a weird-looking pink contraption, a very sharp blade suspended ominously above his neck.

Oogie stared at Marie's back and scratched his head in confusion. "Ah…what exactly am I supposed to be doing here, my love?"

"Nothing!" Marie snapped irritably. She pointed to the corner beside the door and spoke without looking at the Boogeyman. "Just stand over there and be quiet so I can concentrate!"

Oogie obediently did as he was told while Marie turned her attention back to Dr. Finkelstein and her guillotine. But as she stood there watching him snoring with his head under the blade, she began to experience a change of heart and she hesitated indecisively.

Marie's expression suddenly softened and she found herself a little reluctant to pull the execution chord. It's as if she were seeing her creator from a whole new perspective and Marie realized just how frail and vulnerable the Doctor looked right now…

" _Sure, he was a royal pain in the butt most of the time. But there were many occasions when he was nice to me…"_ Marie reminisced with a little smile of fondness. _"He gave me gifts and so much beautiful jewelry! He called me_ Precious _and he even built this guillotine just to make me happy…"_

Marie shook her head and tried to focus on her task. "Oh well. I've got to do what I've got to do…" She whispered to herself with a slight shudder.

As long as Dr. Finkelstein was alive, he would always try to control her, whether she wore a crown on her head or not! She couldn't afford to get sentimental now!

But maybe she could _postpone_ his execution until later? Besides, Jack was a far greater threat to her leadership than her elderly creator. She should concentrate on eliminating him first, especially now that Oogie Boogie was here and awaiting her next command…

"You know what?" Marie said as she turned to face Oogie. "I think I'll deal with this old fool a little later."

The blonde creation went over to her prone creator and started gently pulling him out from underneath the guillotine's blade. She ordered Oogie to help her lift him back into his wheelchair before fetching a blanket from her closet and carefully wrapping it around the Doctor's shoulders. Marie smiled at the old scientist fondly as she watched him snoring peacefully in his wheelchair. He was completely oblivious that he had come so close to death by one of his own inventions and Marie found that disturbingly endearing…

Marie turned back to Oogie with a determined look. "Okay. Let's go deal with Jack Skellington now!"

Oogie started heading out the door enthusiastically and Marie had to clear her throat loudly to get his attention. She pointed to a small wooden box that was behind the door. It contained a powerful adhesive that Dr. Finkelstein had invented several months ago and which Marie believed would be vital in helping them trap Jack in Christmas Town permanently…

She sighed and narrowed her eye at the over-eager Boogeyman contemptuously. "Aren't you forgetting something _darling_ …?"

Oogie looked at the box and back to Marie with slight confusion. "I don't think so…"

He gave her a flattering smile and stated, "I'm here. You're here and I'm ready to serve you for eternity, my love!"

Marie slapped her forehead with her palm in exasperation. "I should have known that you were so busy swooning over me that you weren't paying attention to what I was saying earlier!"

Oogie gave her an apologetic look. Marie took a deep breath and reminded him impatiently, "I've been telling you for several nights now that Dr. Finkelstein developed a new type of adhesive that's so strong, it can practically glue mountains together!"

Despite her irritation, Marie couldn't help grinning to herself wickedly as she stated, "And tonight, we're going to use it to seal the Christmas Door as soon as you've pushed Jack through!"

Oogie didn't reply. He just stared at Marie with utter admiration and her smile melted away as she scolded him for his persistent lechery. "Stop staring at me like an idiot! You're giving me the creeps!"

Oogie let out a dreamy sigh and shook his head in wonder. "Oh my beautiful angel! You make me feel so alive! I've always had a thing for bad girls…"

Marie felt her heart skip a beat and she became genuinely afraid for her wellbeing for the first time since she had met Oogie Boogie. She flinched instinctively as Oogie unleashed one of his formidable laughs. The Boogeyman winked at the flustered creation and declared, "And not only are you the most beautiful creature I've ever seen, but you are also bad to the bone!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Thank you so much to _Hannah29K9, rainbowthefox_ and _Tripledent_ for the inspiring reviews to the previous chapter!**

 ** _Hannah29K9_ – I really loved your suggestion that Oogie should ask for love tips from Cupid when he and Marie get to the Holiday Doors! I might even incorporate it into the story… ;) I'm glad you're enjoying the suspense and thank you so much for the encouraging feedback :)**

 ** _rainbowthefox_ – Anytime my friend and it's nice to know that my feedback means so much to you! ****As for Sally's fate now that Marie has her sights set on seizing Jack's throne before the festival is over…we will know soon enough my friend :)**

 ** _Tripledent_ – Yikes indeed my friend! If only Dr. Finkelstein could have known how close he came to death just now, he would have confronted Marie a long time ago… :)**

 **Thank you to all the silent readers too! Stay tuned for the next update my friends :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	9. Fight Me If You Dare (Part 1)

**Chapter 9 – Fight Me If You Dare (Part 1.)**

A few stars were still visible in the predawn sky when Marie and Oogie left the Observatory. They managed to reach the outskirts of Town without being seen and were about to enter the Hinterlands. But Oogie was frustratingly slow and Marie was forced to stop repeatedly along the way and wait for him to catch up.

"Can't you go any faster?!" Marie demanded irritably.

She stopped just past the entrance to the woods and turned to face Oogie, who was lagging several paces behind. The Boogeyman panted breathlessly as he lumbered towards her, one hand supporting a wooden crate which was perched precariously over his shoulder boom box style.

Marie glanced anxiously at the winding path leading into the woods before turning back to Oogie and urging him on impatiently. "Jack already has a big head start on us, thanks to you! We have to get in position at the Holiday Doors before he arrives so we can ambush him properly!"

The blonde creation narrowed her eye at Oogie contemptuously and added, "If he gets there before we do, he may realize that the note was fake and we don't want him smelling a rat…"

"Or should I say, a Boogeyman…" Marie grumbled under her breath sourly.

Oogie gave Marie an apologetic look as he finally caught his breath. "I'm trying to keep up with you, my angel."

He grimaced and quickly adjusted his grip on the wooden crate before adding, "But this little box is much heavier than it looks!"

"Oh please! Aren't you supposed to be a big, strong Boogeyman?!" Marie asked, placing her hands on her hips and regarding Oogie with a raised brow.

"I _am_ strong, my love!" Oogie stated boastfully. He blinked at her before confessing with an adoring smile, "And I'm willing to use my strength to protect you from anything that might try to harm you in those dark woods…"

Marie groaned and rolled her eyes at this statement. "Whatever! Just follow me and try to keep up!"

She glanced up at the lightening sky and resumed walking along the trial briskly. "It's almost dawn! We have to hurry!"

As they pushed deeper into the Hinterlands, Marie thought she heard Jack's voice somewhere in the distance. It sounded like he was calling Sally's name, followed by some faint barking which meant that he must have brought Zero along with him. Marie stifled a worried gasp and quickened her pace instinctively.

Oogie was struggling to keep up with her as it is, and now she wanted to go even faster?! Normally he might have protested, but Oogie didn't want to upset his beloved companion further. So he remained silent and lumbered along behind her as fast as his stubby burlap legs enabled him to go.

Marie gradually veered off the trial and tried to stay in the shadows as they drew nearer to the Holiday Doors. Oogie followed her lead obediently and they walked on in relative silence, the only sound being the occasional involuntary grunt from the Boogeyman as his burlap skin ended up getting snagged on some overhanging branches from the dead trees that flanked them on both sides.

As they neared their destination, Marie rehearsed the plan in her mind one last time. Upon reaching the Holiday Doors, she would confuse and disorientate Jack by imitating Sally's voice and calling for help from different directions so he couldn't pinpoint her exact location.

Marie smiled to herself wickedly as she pulled out a piece of cloth from her portable makeup bag and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. It was a small piece of Sally's dress that Marie had managed to tear from her sister creation back when Sally's arm got "accidentally" sliced off by the guillotine all those weeks ago. Unbeknownst to Sally, that incident with the guillotine had been part of Marie's plan all along! She needed to obtain a piece of her sister's clothing in order to deceive Jack today and the guillotine incident had provided an opportunity to do just that…

While Marie temporarily drew Jack away from the Holiday Doors by pretending to be Sally in distress, Oogie should have enough time to place this piece of cloth near the Christmas Door. Then she would lure the Pumpkin King back to the Holiday Doors and hopefully Jack would find the cloth and think that Sally had gone through the Christmas Door, ripping her dress in the process. As soon as he opened the Door, Oogie was supposed to sneak up behind him and push him in before he knew what was happening. Then they would seal the door shut permanently using the super-powerful glue from the wooden crate that Oogie was carrying…

After a while, Marie saw the clearing with the Holiday Doors up ahead and she stopped in her tracks. She thought she heard Jack's voice again and it sounded much closer this time. Fortunately, the Pumpkin King hadn't reached the clearing yet and she let out a sigh of relief. Thanks to the shortcut they had taken through the undergrowth, they had managed to beat him here after all! Now all they had to do was set their trap and wait…

Marie scanned her surroundings and tried to assess the situation carefully. She noted which trees looked like they would provide her with the best cover as she tried to draw Jack away from the Holiday Doors. She even took notice of the direction the wind was blowing from and mentally reminded herself to stay downwind, so that Zero wouldn't pick up on her scent and betray her location!

All of a sudden, Marie heard a loud commotion coming from close behind her. She turned in the direction of the noise just in time to see Oogie do a spectacular face plant on the forest floor, a flurry of dead leaves sent flying in his wake. There was a protruding tree root near Oogie's right foot and Marie shook her head as she realized that the clumsy fool must have tripped over it. The wooden crate containing Dr. Finkelstein's super strong glue had been shattered from the force of the impact and the tubes of adhesive were strewn all around the fallen Boogeyman, some of which appeared to be open and oozing their contents onto the ground…

"Ow…" Oogie groaned as he slowly lifted his head and spat out a mouthful of dirt and leaves. He looked around sheepishly as though he were struggling to comprehend what had happened. But apart from that, he made no attempt to move or get up…

Marie clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in frustration. "Shhh!" She hissed, raising a finger to her lips aggressively. "Give me a break! Even King Kong could walk more quietly than you!"

She looked around apprehensively before turning her attention back to the prone Boogeyman and scolding him through clenched teeth. "It's bad enough that everyone within a 2 mile radius can smell you, but now they've probably heard you too, moron!"

"And believe me, Jack must be _much_ closer than that…" Marie speculated with a nervous glance in the direction of the Holiday Doors.

Oogie turned his gaze to the ground in shame. "I'm sorry, my love…"

Marie threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Forget it! Just pick yourself up already and stop wasting my time! We need to hurry!"

Oogie glanced up at Marie uncomfortably. "Oh angel? Remember what you said about this glue being so strong that it can stick mountains together…?"

He tried to lift his right arm off the ground to emphasize his point. But it wouldn't budge and the Boogeyman grimaced with embarrassment before uttering, "Well I think some of it got on my burlap when I fell and now I'm stuck to the ground…"

Marie watched in disbelief as Oogie tried to get to his feet unsuccessfully. He looked like a helpless fat blob wriggling on the ground and she was definitely not amused! She balled her fists angrily and proceeded to blast him off for his latest act of stupidity.

"You are the father of all clumsy idiots! I would never have wasted my time resurrecting you had I known you were going to be this useless!" The blonde creation shouted brashly. She began pacing in front of Oogie and pulling at her hair in frustration as she tried to figure out what to do about this mess.

"You are like a huge smelly thorn in my side! In fact, you're a thorn in my foot, in my butt and every other part of my body!" She ranted furiously.

Oogie gave up trying to free himself and cast his hollow eyes to the ground in shame once more. "Please don't be mad at me, my angel! I'd do anything to make you proud!"

The Boogeyman sighed before adding with a note of regret, "But maybe I'm just not a fighter anymore? Perhaps I've become a lover since you brought me back to life instead!"

"Well I **need** a fighter!" Marie shouted defiantly. She folded her arms over her chest and turned her nose up in distaste as she stated, "Being a lover is a waste of time! Not to mention a waste of perfectly good burlap and strength!"

" _Unfortunately, I'm going to need this moron's strength to help me dispose of Jack Skellington!"_ Marie thought to herself begrudgingly. _"I have to find a way to free him from this sticky predicament he's landed himself in…"_

Suddenly, Marie's eyes widened as an idea came to her. For once, she found herself grateful for the brilliant brain Dr. Finkelstein had so generously bestowed on her when he had created her. She took out her portable makeup bag (which she carried with her _everywhere._ Marie liked to look ravishing at all times and she never knew when her makeup might need some emergency on-the-go touching up!) She fumbled around in the bag until at last, her hand closed around the object she had been searching for and she held it up triumphantly.

It was a pair of small, but very sharp-looking manicure scissors and Oogie couldn't help squirming nervously as the blonde creation knelt down beside him with a maniacal grin.

"Hold still _dear!_ I promise this won't hurt a bit…" Marie whispered coldly. She gripped Oogie's right arm and started cutting away at the burlap that was keeping him glued to the forest floor.

Oogie wasn't worried about pain. Since his skin was made of burlap, he didn't feel pain the way a monster made of flesh and blood would. He was far more concerned about how he would prevent his bugs from escaping now that he had a gaping hole in his arm…

He looked at Marie anxiously. "Wait, my love! What about my bugs?!"

Marie stopped halfway through cutting him free and groaned in annoyance. "You know, I'm beginning to think that I'm better off leaving you here while I risk taking my chances with Jack by myself!"

Oogie regarded her with a thoughtful expression. Finally he took a deep breath and ventured hopefully, "Maybe you could spare me some cloth from your dress to patch up the hole in my arm? The bugs are the source of my power and I can't allow them to escape!"

"Please angel? Do it for me?" Oogie begged her in a small voice. He reached out with his free hand and clasped Marie's arm desperately.

Marie looked down at her favorite green dress and back to the hapless Boogeyman. Finally, she let out a reluctant sigh and nodded begrudgingly. "Fine! But you'd better start pulling your weight from now on! Because if you don't, I'll personally cut off both your arms and squish every last one of your precious bugs as they pour out of your body!"

With that, Marie began painstakingly cutting a strip of cloth from the bottom of her beautiful green gown that was large enough to cover the hole in Oogie's damaged arm. She fought back a sob of despair as she laid the piece of green fabric on the ground and resumed cutting Oogie free.

As soon as she was done, Oogie sat up and watched with alarm as a few daring cockroaches made a desperate dash for freedom from the gaping hole in his right arm. Marie quickly covered the hole with her improvised cloth "Band-Aid" before more bugs could spill out. Then she retrieved a sewing needle from her makeup bag and began stitching the cloth in place. As she worked, Marie tried not to gag from disgust as Oogie generated a powerful vacuum-suction with his mouth and hoovered up the fleeing cockroaches, re-ingesting them before they were lost forever.

After a few minutes, Marie had successfully patched-up Oogie's arm and she got to her feet impatiently. "There! Are you happy now?!"

Oogie admired the flashy green piece of fabric on his arm with satisfaction. "Thank you, my love! You saved me again!" He praised her with a grateful smile.

Marie grumbled something under her breath moodily. She pointed towards the Holiday Doors and reminded Oogie with a stern look, "I'm going to distract Jack by pretending to sound like Sally in distress okay?"

She narrowed her eye at the Boogeyman and prompted, "So when I yell _help,_ it doesn't mean that I'm calling for actual assistance, understand?! I don't want you to drop everything and come to my rescue!"

Marie reached into her makeup bag and gave Oogie the piece of cloth that she had cut from Sally's dress. "While I'm busy luring Jack away from the Holiday Doors, I need you to place this piece of cloth near the Christmas Door! That way Jack will be led to believe that Sally went through that Door and she accidentally got a piece of her dress caught on the tree bark!"

Oogie nodded in understanding as he accepted the piece of cloth from Marie. Then he obediently concealed himself in some nearby shrubbery and waited while Marie ran in the opposite direction. She took cover behind some trees and started calling for help in a voice that sounded unerringly like Sally's.

A few seconds later, Oogie heard a rustling sound and twigs breaking underfoot nearby. Then Jack's tall, skeletal form came into view briefly as he raced past Oogie's hiding place and headed in the direction of Marie's voice, Zero following closely behind with a few worried barks.

By the time Jack reached the location where he'd heard the voice moments ago, Marie had already moved a little deeper into the woods before calling for help again. Jack followed the sound instinctively and Oogie watched with satisfaction as the Pumpkin King ran in the direction of Marie's voice every time she called out from a different location.

" _It's actually working! He's taken the bait! Now it's time for me to make my move…"_ Oogie told himself with mounting excitement.

As soon as he felt that Jack had distanced himself sufficiently from the Holiday Doors, Oogie eagerly crept out of his hiding place and lumbered into the clearing with the piece of cloth Marie had given to him. The Boogeyman reached the center of the clearing and studied the seven Holiday Doors with a slightly puzzled expression. Each Door was a massive tree trunk with a unique symbol representing that particular Holiday World carved into the bark.

The only problem was that Marie had never actually explained to Oogie which one is supposed to be the Christmas Door!

Oogie scratched his head with the tip of one burlap hand as he noted what each of the symbols were. He instantly recognized the Halloween Door with its grinning Jack-o-Lantern carving, but the others were a complete mystery to the perplexed Boogeyman. One had a funny-looking tree with lots of colorful spheres on it, whereas another was engraved with a fat brown bird. The other symbols on the Doors included a weird-looking green leaf, a red square with stars on it and what appeared to be a large brightly-colored egg.

But it was the last Door that really grabbed Oogie's attention. This Door had some kind of distorted red circle on it and there was something about that particular symbol that led Oogie to believe that it was the one he was looking for…

"Could this be the door to Christmas Town?" Oogie asked himself a little uncertainly.

He looked around at the other Doors again before shrugging dismissively. It shouldn't really matter _which_ door Jack went through! Marie wanted him banished from Halloween Town and as long as they trapped him in one of the other Holiday Worlds, he would no longer be a threat to Marie's reign!

Besides, Oogie became increasingly confident that the Door with the red circle was the right one! He seemed to recall that Sandy Claws had been round and red, so surely that must be the symbol for Christmas Town!

Oogie strategically placed the piece of cloth near the Door with the Sandy Claws-shaped red blob on it. Then he took a step back and admired his work with a pleased smile.

" _My angel is going to be so proud when she sees what a great job I've done!"_ Oogie thought with extreme self-satisfaction.

Suddenly, Oogie heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching the clearing and he quickly sought cover behind a large tree nearby. From here, he could keep an eye on the Holiday Doors and wait for his chance to ambush Jack when the time was right…

The footsteps grew louder and Oogie held his breath with anticipation as he watched Marie burst into the clearing moments later. But instead of going towards the Door Oogie had marked, Marie stopped in front of the Door with the colorful tree on it and it took the Boogeyman about 3 seconds to realize that something wasn't right. He watched with bewilderment as Marie searched the area around the base of the tree trunk before glancing around the clearing in confusion.

Then the revelation slowly dawned on Oogie Boogie.

" _She must have thought that Door with the funny-looking tree on it is the Christmas Door! I'd better let her know she's looking in the wrong spot!"_ He decided with a fond smile.

Oogie emerged from his hiding place and waved at Marie excitedly. "Over here my angel! The Christmas Door is over here!" He pointed at the Door with the red blob as he spoke and Marie's eyes widened in horror when she saw where he had placed the piece of cloth.

There was a moment of tense silence as Marie stared at the Door that Oogie had marked in complete shock. Then all hell broke loose…

Marie's face contorted with rage and she unleashed weeks of pent-up frustration with a deafening scream.

"NOOOO!"

Oogie watched in stunned silence as Marie dropped to the ground on her knees and cradled her head in her hands before bursting into tears hysterically. He couldn't understand why the blonde creation had become so upset all of a sudden. All he knew was that she needed to take cover _now!_ She was crying really loudly and even Oogie was smart enough to realize that it was only a matter of time before Jack heard her and came this way…

Oogie was just about to warn her that she was making too much noise, but it was already too late. Before the Boogeyman could say anything, Jack burst into the clearing with a wild expression on his skeletal face, closely followed by his ghostly dog; Zero.

"Sally?" The Pumpkin King ventured in an uncertain tone as he approached the crying woman cautiously. He was so focused on her, that he hadn't noticed Oogie lurking at the edge of the clearing yet.

As Jack got closer, he realized that the woman wasn't Sally at all and his expression changed from concerned to resentful. He stopped in front of Marie and loomed over her intimidatingly.

"It's _you!_ Where's my Sally?!" Jack demanded accusingly.

Marie stopped crying and looked up at the Pumpkin King with utter contempt. "She's _your_ Sally, not mine! I couldn't care less about where she is!" She spat hatefully.

This statement sent Jack into a rage and his whole demeanor changed in an instant. His eye sockets took on a ferocious look and his teeth became jagged fangs (as was often the case when he got really angry!) Marie was caught completely off guard as the Pumpkin King reached out and grabbed her roughly by the wrist. She shrieked in pain as Jack's skeletal hand gripped her arm tightly, his sharp bony fingers pinching her soft flesh as he yanked her to her feet forcefully.

Realizing he had unintentionally hurt her, Jack started to loosen his grip on Marie's wrist slightly when a demonic-sounding roar came from behind them. The Pumpkin King gave a startled gasp as he turned towards the sound and saw Oogie Boogie standing beside the Valentine's Door in his most formidable form.

The infuriated Boogeyman faced his old rival, his serpentine tongue flicking out of his mouth and hissing at Jack venomously.

"Get your bony hands off my angel!" Oogie bellowed at the top of his voice.

Jack was so stunned that he let go of Marie and she scrambled away from him, holding her bruised wrist and sobbing shakily.

"How can this be?!" Jack uttered in a shell-shocked voice, his eye sockets gazing into Oogie's equally dark, soulless ones disbelievingly. "You're supposed to be dead!"

A sinister grin appeared on Oogie's face. "Well I'm back and stronger than ever!" He glanced at Marie, who was still rubbing her wrist tenderly and looking at him with teary pleading eyes.

Oogie turned back to Jack and stated in a dangerously determined voice, "This time you're going down Jack! Nobody hurts my precious angel and lives to tell about it!"

 _To Be Continued…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Even the most carefully thought-out plans don't always turn out the way they should. Marie had everything planned so well, but it's all starting to go pear-shaped (thanks to Oogie…)**

 **Since there's still a lot that needs to be covered in this long-anticipated clash of the titans, I've decided to split this scene into two separate chapters (otherwise it would have ended up really long!)**

 **I'd like to thank the following people for their wonderful feedback to the previous chapter:**

 _ **Hannah29K9**_ **– I know how you feel and that pretty much sums up how I felt when I was writing that scene about Fink's close shave with the guillotine! At least the Old Doctor has dodged the bullet (or guillotine blade) for now! As for Oogie developing a possible obsession with Sally's leg? Well even a Boogeyman can dream… :)**

 _ **rainbowthefox**_ **– Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciated it and I'm glad I was able to deliver the suspense! As for Marie having a possible change of heart towards the Doctor? Well let's just say that things may have turned out very differently if Oogie hadn't interrupted her when she was initially getting ready to pull the execution chord. Who ever thought that Oogie might become somewhat of an accidental hero… :)**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– I thought that was a fun touch too! After all, the writer of that note isn't exactly renowned for his bright ideas (or grammar for that matter!) You were spot on regarding the reason behind Marie's change of heart :) But I can assure you, she won't always be as forgiving in the future! I'm glad you're enjoying the suspense so far! Marie's plan is still far from certain. In fact it's becoming unraveled in more ways than one… :)**

 **Thank you to all the silent readers for tuning in so far as well! I hope you stick around to see what happens next :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	10. Fight Me If You Dare (Part 2)

**Chapter 10 – Fight Me If You Dare (Part 2.)**

The first rays of morning sunlight were filtering down through the trees as Jack and Oogie faced each other in front of the Holiday Doors. Even though Jack had managed to recover a little from the initial shock of seeing his old rival standing before him, his skull was still buzzing with questions!

The Pumpkin King bared his teeth in an unmistakable sneer of contempt as he watched Oogie positioning himself in front of Marie defensively.

"How is it even possible that you're here?!" Jack demanded angrily.

Oogie never took his eyes off his adversary, his frown deepening as he regarded Jack with utter hatred. He pointed towards Marie, who had dropped to her knees once more and was fussing over her bruised wrist dramatically.

"I owe my life to that beautiful creature over there…" Oogie started to say overprotectively, when Marie interrupted him with an earsplitting scream of pain from the ground.

"OWWW! IT HURTS SO MUCH!" She wailed, cradling her injured wrist with her other hand. Tears began rolling down her cheeks, causing the makeup around her eyes to run and leaving black streaks down the sides of her face.

Oogie's expression went from imposing to deeply concerned as he rushed to Marie's side and began fussing over her worriedly. "Are you okay, my angel?! Did that walking pile of bones hurt you badly?!"

Marie looked up at Oogie tearfully. "He did! I hope my arm isn't broken…" She sniffled, showing the Boogeyman her injured arm tentatively. The wounded creation cringed in pain and started screaming again as she tried flexing her fingers experimentally.

Oogie turned around and took a menacing step towards Jack, his hollow eyes filled with a fury that the Pumpkin King had never seen the likes of before. It was enough to send a shudder rolling down Jack's spine and he almost backed away instinctively.

Drawing on sheer willpower, the "Master of Fright" stood his ground as the infuriated Boogeyman shook his fist at him and thundered, **"HOW DARE YOU HURT THE LOVE OF MY LIFE?! I WILL TEAR YOU APART!"**

Oogie Boogie took another step towards the speechless Pumpkin King, his mighty burlap chest heaving as he breathed in and out furiously. **"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS, JACK SKELLINGTON!"**

Jack began circling the enraged Boogeyman, keeping as much distance between himself and his foe as he tried to decide whether to engage him in battle or not. Even though he had successfully defeated Oogie once before, he wasn't about to underestimate his old enemy. Oogie was still an extremely dangerous opponent and this time he was willing to lay his life on the line for the woman he loved…something Jack himself could relate to. That he realized, would make the Boogeyman fight more ferociously than ever!

Jack threw a quick glance at Marie and his eye sockets widened as he caught sight of the calculating smirk on her face. Her tears had stopped flowing all of a sudden and she was watching Oogie's back with all the self-assured coldness of someone who was used to manipulating others in order to get her way at all costs…

Jack stopped circling Oogie, thrusting his hand forward in an unmistakable gesture that meant _stop._

"Hold it right there!" Jack ordered in a commanding voice.

Oogie paused, his snaky tongue flicking out of his mouth and hissing at his nemesis spitefully. "What's the matter Jack?! You don't have the _guts_ to face me?!"

Jack narrowed his eye sockets contemptuously at the Boogeyman. "First of all, you can't kill me since I'm already dead!" He stated matter-of-factly.

A sly smile appeared on Jack's skeletal face and he crossed his arms before reminding Oogie in a mocking tone, "On the other hand, I've already dispatched you once before and I'll do it again if I must!"

Oogie blinked and shifted his weight uncomfortably as unpleasant memories of their previous confrontation flashed briefly through his mind. The thought unnerved him deeply, but Oogie wasn't about to give Jack the satisfaction of knowing that he had rattled him...

The Boogeyman took a deep breath and quickly pushed the disturbing image of having his burlap flayed off by Jack aside as he resumed glaring at his rival menacingly.

Jack ignored Oogie's vengeful stare and gestured to Marie with a long, bony finger. "Secondly, can't you see that woman has been falsely leading you on?!"

Marie stared at the Pumpkin King with a mixture of shock and resentment. "Don't listen to him Oogie! He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

The blonde creation turned to Oogie with big pleading eyes. "I love you! I always have! That's why I resurrected you in the first place!" She insisted desperately.

Oogie stared at Marie thoughtfully. He wanted to believe that everything she had just said was true. He adored her and he would do anything to please her. Sure, she had insulted him countless times since his resurrection and she was constantly playing hard to get. But Oogie wanted more than anything to believe that deep down, she felt some affection towards him. He _needed_ to believe it! The very idea that everything she had told him was a lie and she was just using him to achieve her ambitious goals, was too painful to comprehend!

Jack looked from Marie to Oogie and shook his head pityingly. "As for her arm, I can assure you she's not hurt as badly as she's leading you to believe Oogie!"

He narrowed one eye socket at the blonde creation and stated, "Trust me, if I wanted to break her arm, I could easily have done so!" Jack shook his head and sighed apologetically. "I know I grabbed her rather forcefully and she'll probably have a bruise because of it. I am genuinely sorry about that and it was never my intention to harm her in any way!"

"LIES!" Marie shouted defiantly, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Jack.

Jack bit back his frustration and went on as patiently as he could. "I really didn't mean to hurt you Marie! I was just worried about Sally!"

The Pumpkin King gave Marie an accusing look, but his voice sounded more hurt than angry as he continued speaking. "You already harmed Sally a few weeks ago when she went to visit you at the Observatory and you tried to trick me into believing that she was in danger just now! So I'm sorry if I squeezed your wrist a little harder than I intended to when I grabbed you earlier. I just lost it!"

There was a moment of tense silence as the Pumpkin King, Boogeyman and blonde creation regarded one another with mixed feelings and varying degrees of contempt.

Finally, Jack made a calming motion with his hands. "No one needs to get hurt today. I just want to know where Sally is…" He reasoned quietly.

Marie gave him a taunting look. Her voice was full of venom as she sniped sarcastically, "You're getting soft Jack! You're not even aware of what's been happening right under your nose!"

The blonde creation threw back her head and laughed maniacally. There was a crazed look in her eye as she climbed to her feet and spat in Jack's face brazenly. "You think you're so powerful and terrifying, but any woman can play you like a piano! You're pathetic!"

Big mistake...

Jack's face instantly turned into an image of utter horror as Marie's insult triggered a primal rage within him. His eye sockets flashed with ferocity and his teeth became sharp fangs as he opened his mouth and unleashed a spine-chilling roar.

 **"YOU THINK I'M PATHETIC DO YOU?! I AM THE PUMPKIN KING!"** He looked like he was about to go for Marie again and tear her to pieces this time!

But before he could reach her, Oogie jumped in front of Marie protectively and pushed Jack away as hard as he could.

" **BACK OFF BONE MAN!"** Oogie thundered outrageously.

Jack was sent reeling by the force of Oogie's shove. He felt like he'd been hit in the ribcage by a charging rhinoceros and he stumbled to regain his footing frantically.

The Pumpkin King realized that one of his ribs had been fractured by Oogie's attack and he clutched at his chest with one hand. He let out a savage growl as his eye sockets came to rest on Marie, who was cowering behind Oogie fearfully.

"I'll show you just how _soft_ I am woman!" Jack hissed threateningly. He made another lunge at the now terrified creation, only to be intercepted by Oogie again. The Boogeyman stood in front of Marie like a mountain of enraged burlap, shielding her with his body and legendary strength.

" **WHY DON'T YOU PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE JACK?!"** Oogie bellowed thunderously. His venomous serpent tongue hissed as it flicked out of his mouth and snapped in Jack's face, forcing the agile skeleton to take evasive action as he leapt out of striking range in the nick of time.

Oogie placed his stubby arms on his hips and nodded towards Marie defensively. **"YOU'LL GET TO HER OVER MY DEAD BODY! SO FIGHT ME IF YOU DARE!"**

Jack and the Boogeyman eyed each other like two gladiators preparing for battle.

" **OVER YOU'RE DEAD BODY, YOU SAY?! WELL I'M SURE THAT CAN BE ARRANGED…AGAIN!"** Jack boasted arrogantly.

" **STOP MOCKING ME! I WILL BREAK EVERY SINGLE BONE IN YOUR BODY AND TURN YOU INTO A MANGLED PILE OF SKELETAL REMAINS!"** Oogie countered with a deafening roar.

The two monstrous adversaries were just about to rip into each other, when a hysterical female voice interrupted them before either could make the first move.

" **ENOUGH!"**

Jack and Oogie Boogie both stopped and looked at Marie. She was breathing rapidly, her fists balled tightly at her sides as she glared at them angrily. The blonde creation had deliberately interrupted the fight because she was afraid of what might happen if Jack somehow succeeded in destroying Oogie again. Regardless of how clumsy and frustratingly stupid the Boogeyman had been ever since she resurrected him, Marie knew that he was also unquestionably devoted to her!

He had demonstrated just now that he really was willing to protect her with his life and the last thing Marie wanted was to be left alone in the woods with an enraged Pumpkin King if Oogie ended up getting defeated again. She just couldn't risk it…

The blonde creation locked eyes with Jack. "Listen to me very carefully Jack Skellington, because I'm only going to say this once…" Her voice sounded deathly serious as she took a deep breath and explained begrudgingly. "Your precious Sally has been hiding something from you in Town Hall this whole time! She's been sneaking out every night for weeks now and trying to organize a _surprise festival_ to cheer you up along with most of the other citizens!"

Jack's face lost its fierce look as he processed this latest bit of information. Sally has been safely in Town all this time?! The Pumpkin King's expression went from threatening to open-mouthed surprise as he stared at Marie unbelievingly.

Marie folded her arms over her chest and smirked at the skeleton belligerently. "I told you that you were clueless about what's been happening right under your nose! If you love Sally so much, you really ought to keep an eye on her more carefully!"

The blonde creation gestured to the woods around them and shook her head with disdain. "You were prepared to attack me earlier, but you should be thanking me instead! Something terrible could have happened to Sally and you'd never even know until it's too late!"

Despite the seething anger he still harbored towards Marie for deceiving him, Jack had to admit that she was right. His stance relaxed slightly and he slowly backed away from Oogie, who was still looking infuriated and ready to defend Marie with his life.

Jack still resented the Boogeyman and he knew that the feeling was mutual regarding Oogie's hatred for him. But he also realized that he would walk away with a newfound respect for his old rival after this encounter: Jack understood that Oogie was simply standing up for the woman he loves. It was something he could relate to and he actually found himself respecting Oogie because of it! In fact, had their positions been reversed and Sally had been the one in danger, there was little doubt in Jack's mind that he would have reacted the same way!

A warm feeling suddenly came over the Pumpkin King as he thought about what Sally had been trying to do just to cheer him up! He hadn't realized up till now how deeply she really cared about him and he promised himself that he would never take her for granted again! From now on, he was going to cherish and be more attentive to her than ever!

Jack looked at Marie and Oogie decisively. "I'm going to find Sally now." His voice took on a warning tone and he wagged a finger in Marie's face, issuing a departing threat at the blonde creation specifically. "You'd better not be lying to me about her whereabouts Marie! Just so you know, if I find that Sally has been harmed in any way, I will hunt you down and I'll make you pay dearly!"

Jack turned his gaze to Oogie and added bitterly, "I will make certain that no one will be able to resurrect either of you by the time I'm through with you both!"

With that, Jack turned his back to them and started walking off in the direction of Halloween Town. As Oogie and Marie watched the Pumpkin King leave, Jack's little ghost dog; Zero growled at them one last time before following his master. He wanted Oogie and Marie to know that he would gladly assist Jack in getting rid of them if need be!

An eerie silence settled over the clearing as Marie was left wondering what to do now that her plan had fallen apart. The blonde creation stood stock-still, her fists balled so tightly that her fingernails were buried deeply in her palms. Her breath came in short agitated gasps as she glared daggers at Oogie Boogie, who flinched involuntarily from the intensity of her stare.

The Boogeyman gave her a concerned look. He rubbed the back of his head with one hand nervously and spoke in a low hesitant voice. "Ah…are you okay, my angel? Please say something! What should we do now…?"

Marie clenched her jaw and stared at him with open resentment.

"ARGH! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!" She seethed furiously.

Oogie shrank back from her as the outraged creation finally lost it in an _explosive_ way.

 **"I'VE SPENT MONTHS PREPARING FOR THIS DAY AND INSTEAD OF HELPING ME, YOU'VE DESTROYED MY ENTIRE PLAN!"** She screamed, kicking at the ground in frustration.

Oogie cast his eyes to the ground in shame as Marie continued ranting and cursing irately. Finally, the blonde creation dropped to her knees with a despondent groan. She made a fist and began slamming her injured hand on the forest floor repeatedly, the pain adding to her fury until she couldn't stand it any longer and angry tears started streaming down her face.

"Why, oh why did I ever resurrect you?!" Marie wailed inconsolably. Her tears were flowing freely by now as a searing pain spread upwards from her injured hand, turning her cries of rage into agonized sobs until she collapsed in a weeping heap on the ground.

Oogie watched her dejectedly. His snaky tongue hung out of his mouth limply as he finally understood how badly he'd messed things up for Marie. He had failed his new Queen and now any hopes he had of winning her affection seemed lost forever…

After a few minutes, Oogie approached the distraught creation as she lay crying on the ground. He took a deep breath and spoke in a hushed voice, his hollow eyes filled with remorse as he whispered, "I know I messed up a few things my angel. But there's something I still don't understand…

The Boogeyman paused and gave Marie a questioning look before continuing in a low whisper, "Why did you scream when I showed you which Door I'd put that piece of cloth under? I did what you asked of me, but you started screaming and it alerted Jack to our location before we completed setting the trap for him."

Marie stopped crying and lifted her head off her forearm slowly, meeting Oogie's gaze with bloodshot eyes.

Oogie shrugged innocently. "I don't understand how that part was _my_ fault…"

"I _screamed?"_ Marie hissed through her teeth. Her expression became marred with anger again as she threw her hands in the air dramatically and shouted at the Boogeyman irately. **"IF I COULD, I'D ROAR AND GROWL!"**

The blonde creation pointed contemptuously towards the Door Oogie had placed the shred of Sally's dress under. "You are such an idiot! That's the Valentine's Door, not the Christmas one!"

Oogie regarded the Door with the red blobby symbol on it with confusion. "Well how was I supposed to know which Door leads to Christmas Town?! I've never been here before!"

"I've never seen the other Holiday Doors either! But I did my homework and I expected you to do the same!" Marie spat bitterly. She folded her arms and raised her brow at the Boogeyman quizzically. "And what do you mean that you've never been here before?! Didn't you kidnap Sandy Claws last year when Jack decided to take over Christmas?!"

Despite finding himself on the receiving end of Marie's anger once again, Oogie couldn't help chuckling softly as he reminisced about how much fun he'd had tormenting Sandy Claws with his casino-themed torture devices down in his lair. Those were some good times!

Until Jack showed up and ruined his fun…

"Oh my angel! I _did_ imprison Sandy Claws for a short time but I wasn't the one who kidnapped him!" Oogie grinned at the flustered creation sheepishly. "It was the kids! Lock, Shock and Barrel abducted Sandy Claws from Christmas Town and brought him to me! I've never been out of Halloween Town before!"

Marie growled in frustration and turned her back to Oogie, cursing under her breath as she stormed away from him angrily. She ignored the rejected look the Boogeyman gave her and began pacing back and forth around the clearing like a tiger in a cage. Her plan had collapsed like a house of cards and Marie was forced to accept that she was never going to get rid of Jack and Sally now! She had missed her chance to banish the Pumpkin King from Halloween Town forever and she knew she'd never be able to get close enough to Sally to lure her to her doom like she'd hoped. The devious creation suspected that Jack wouldn't be letting Sally out of his sight for a long time after what he'd seen this morning!

" _I suppose it's still not too late to get rid of Dr. Finkelstein…"_ Marie thought with a resigned sigh. If she couldn't be the Queen of Halloween Town, then at least she deserved to live in peace at the Observatory without constantly having to answer to that needy old fool's every demand!

It wasn't much of a consolation, but Marie decided that she still might be able to salvage one small component of her original plan after all. And this time she wasn't going to let sentiment get in the way of finishing what she'd started! As soon as she had dealt with Old Fink, Marie needed to find a way to ditch this smelly, good-for-nothing Boogeyman somehow. He had ruined her plan for the last time and she never wanted to see him again!

Suddenly Marie stopped pacing and smiled to herself as her thoughts turned to Lock, Shock and Barrel. The three Trick-or-Treaters had been exceptionally helpful to her over these past few weeks and she thought about inviting them to come live with her at the Observatory so they could become her new servants. Deep down, Marie had to admit that she had become surprisingly fond of those little rascals over the short time she'd known them and she was willing to offer them a home with her. She admired their tenacity and she deeply regretted that she hadn't sought their help with her plan instead of this useless Boogeyman. Each one of them probably had more brains than Oogie!

Okay, maybe not Barrel! But still…

The sound of Oogie clearing his throat suddenly snapped Marie out of her thoughts and she looked at him agitatedly.

The Boogeyman gave her a hopeful smile and gestured to the Valentine's Door. "Um, angel? Who do you suppose is the ruler of Valentine's Town?" He inquired curiously.

Marie rolled her eyes and huffed. "I don't know and I don't care! I guess some guy named Cupid…" She answered distractedly.

She turned and started walking back towards Halloween Town. But Oogie caught her by the shoulder with one hand and she looked back at him irritably.

"What now?!" Marie snapped impatiently.

Oogie glanced in the direction of the Valentine's Door with intrigue. "What do you think they do in Valentine's Town, angel?"

Marie shook his hand off her shoulder roughly. She was seriously losing her patience with this flirtatious Boogeyman and his stupid questions!

"Who cares?!" The blonde creation exclaimed dramatically. "Probably just profess their love to one another all the time, do stupid lovey-dovey things like kiss and flirt constantly, and live happily ever after!"

Marie turned her back to Oogie before he could ask her any more pointless questions about Valentine's Town. She gave a disgruntled sigh and marched off in the direction of Halloween Town briskly.

Oogie lingered in front of the Valentine's Door for a few more seconds before running after Marie devotedly. He came up beside her and gently wrapped his coarse burlap hand around her dainty gloved one.

"Maybe we should go live in Valentine's Town, angel! It sounds very fitting for our situation…" Oogie offered affectionately. He flashed her an adoring smile and stroked her fingers lovingly with the tip of his burlap hand.

Marie stopped in her tracks and gave him a look of utter contempt. "In your dreams Boogeyman!" She snatched her hand out of his before walking onwards to Halloween Town belligerently.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'd like to give a huge shout out to the following people for their feedback to the previous chapter:**

 _ **Hannah29K9**_ **– Trust me, I've developed quite a soft spot for Oogie myself ever since I started writing this story! I agree with you there! He really is one of the best villains ever! And that voice literally gives me goosebumps every time I listen to Oogie's song from the movie, XD. As you saw, Marie is a very hard creation to impress…but you gotta give Oogie credit for trying right? Maybe someday his persistence might pay off, but for now he really needs to focus on winning back her trust after this latest debacle! That is, IF Marie will ever give him the chance… Thank you so much for your ongoing support my friend! I hope you enjoyed that little Valentine's Town reference :)**

 _ **rainbowthefox**_ **– No worries my friend! Take as much time as you like to read through the story. I always welcome and appreciate your feedback anytime! Well as you saw, there were A LOT of things that made Marie snap lately, thanks to Oogie and his clumsy albeit well-intentioned (or should I say** _ **misguided**_ **perceptions of love and common sense!) Thanks again for the review and for seeing this story through so far :)**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– I'm glad you enjoyed that little twist regarding Oogie's confusion at the Holiday Doors! It's quite ironic that Marie spent all this time planning everything so carefully, only to have it all fall apart in the end because she just assumed Oogie would know which Door leads to Christmas Town… You were right and the story nearly DID go in a Valentine's direction (If Oogie had his way it would have happened a long time ago!) Unfortunately it's going to take a lot more than Oogie's amazing singing voice and his unshakable devotion to win Marie over! Only time will tell my friend :)**

 **Thank you once again to all the silent readers and thank you _bubobubo strigidae_ for following this story :) Marie's plan may be ruined, but I can assure you this story is still far from over and there are many more surprises in store for all the residents of Halloween Town ;)**

 **Svinorita.**


	11. Surprise! No More

**Chapter 11 – Surprise?! No More…**

Dr. Finkelstein was awakened from his nightshade-induced slumber by a loud thud echoing down the hall. The old scientist let out a miserable groan as he massaged his temples. He could already feel the telltale signs of a pounding headache setting in and the sound of the Observatory's heavy-steel door slamming shut downstairs only added to his discomfort. As if that wasn't bad enough, his throat was absolutely parched, but he felt too weak to wheel himself all the way down to the kitchen in his current state.

The Doctor turned his head in the direction of the door and tried calling for assistance, but his throat was so dry that all he could do was croak weakly.

"Marie! Bring me a glass of water!"

After calling for several minutes, Dr. Finkelstein was about to give up when Igor finally shuffled into the room carrying a glass of water, spilling most of it along the way thanks to his clumsy gait.

"Here, Master." The hunchback rasped, offering the half-empty glass of water to the Doctor.

Despite his thirst, Dr. Finkelstein didn't take the glass from Igor straightaway. He stared at his lab assistant with a mixture of confusion and irritation. The dark lenses of his glasses hid the angry look in his eyes, but he was unable to conceal the edginess in his voice as he leaned forward in his wheelchair and questioned Igor demandingly.

"What are you doing here? Where is Marie?!"

Igor flinched from the harshness in his Master's voice and cast his gaze to the ground meekly as he replied, "She already left…"

The Doctor gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly as he waited for Igor to say more. But apparently, the hunchback had no intention of elaborating on his answer…

"And?! Where did she go, you simpleton?!" Dr. Finkelstein prompted impatiently.

"Igor don't know! She always leaves without saying!"

Dr. Finkelstein nodded reluctantly before dismissing Igor and sending him to his room. That simple-minded klutz wasn't going to be of much help to him. Besides, the Doctor was in a really foul mood and he wanted to be alone right now anyway! Still, Igor had confirmed what the old scientist had been suspecting for quite a while now…

Marie had been sneaking out every night and deep down, the old Doctor was beginning to worry that she might leave him permanently like Sally had!

Dr. Finkelstein let out a dreary sigh. He turned his wheelchair around and let out a gasp of surprise as he nearly wheeled himself straight into Marie's beloved pink guillotine. The Doctor backed up a little and glanced around the room in bewilderment. He hadn't even realized up till now that he was inside Marie's room and he couldn't understand how he'd ended up here. He could have sworn that he'd fallen asleep in his own room last night, so what was he doing here?!

The Doctor looked suspiciously at the pink guillotine sitting on the floor beside his wheelchair. His tired reflection stared back at him in the razor-sharp blade which was currently in the raised position, ready to slice through anything unfortunate enough to fall beneath it…

Dr. Finkelstein shuddered as he thought about how close he'd come to steering his wheelchair into the path of that lethal blade. He really needed to talk to Marie about the danger of leaving the blade suspended like that when the guillotine was unattended. Someone could end up losing a limb (or a head) if she wasn't a bit more careful about the way she stored her present!

Suddenly, the Doctor seemed to forget his close brush with the guillotine as he realized how warm and snuggly he felt. He glanced down and saw that Marie had covered him with her favorite blanket. He could smell the alluring fragrance of her perfume on the fabric and a small smile of appreciation flashed across his face. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but a hopeful thought came to his mind and the Doctor felt his heart fill with longing.

" _She does care about me after all!"_

Sure. Marie left for who-knew-where every night, but she still took the time to cover him with her blanket and make sure he was comfortable. The Doctor was still feeling a little groggy from the nightshade she'd slipped him last night and in his half-sleeping state of mind, he started to reminisce about how wonderful things had been shortly after he'd created Marie. He remembered how attentive, caring and loyal she had been to him. Back then, his every wish was her command and she always obeyed him with a sweet smile on her pretty face.

But lately something had changed and Marie had become selfish, ignorant and disobedient. The Doctor shook his head and sighed regretfully. As much as he wanted to blame and resent her for being so negligent and rebellious, deep down he knew it wasn't entirely her fault. Maybe he _had_ been pushing her too hard and overwhelming her with his constant demands for attention…

Suddenly, a tempting idea flashed through Dr. Finkelstein's mind and he sat up a little straighter in his wheelchair. Maybe if he tried doing something nice for her now, she may forgive him and things could be restored to the way they were before! He felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth as remembered the surprise gift he had set aside for her birthday, before Marie had requested that she'd wanted him to make her a guillotine as a present. Unfortunately, he'd never had the chance to give it to her. Marie had been so excited when she saw the guillotine he'd built for her that the old Doctor forgot all about the original gift he'd intended to give her for her birthday!

Maybe it wasn't too late to surprise her with his gift now? Perhaps he could show Marie just how much he still cared about her and wanted to see her happy, even though she'd convinced herself of the contrary!

With a sense of renewed hope and reconciliation foremost in his mind, Dr. Finkelstein steered his wheelchair down the hall and entered his own bedroom. He stopped in front of the desk where he kept various blueprints and plans for his upcoming projects and began rummaging around in the top drawer until he located the beautiful jewelry box he'd hidden there. He ran his finger over the glittering lid of the jewelry box before opening it and admiring the gorgeous ruby and diamond necklace, bracelet and earrings inside.

Feeling extremely pleased with himself for choosing such a thoughtful gift for his creation, Dr. Finkelstein headed back to Marie's room and looked around for the perfect spot to leave the precious jewels so she'd be able to find them. After a few moments of indecision, his gaze finally landed on the pink guillotine in the corner of the room and the Doctor nodded in satisfaction.

" _Of course! She adores that wretched thing! I bet she'll have no trouble noticing my gift if I leave it near her precious guillotine…"_

Dr. Finkelstein maneuvered his wheelchair carefully up to the guillotine and placed the jewelry box on the desk beside it where Marie couldn't possibly miss it when she returned later. Now all he needed to do was stay awake long enough to see her reaction when Marie discovered those beautiful jewels. He felt confident that she was going to love his gift and hopefully he might even rediscover the "Precious Jewel" he once knew…

XXX

Jack was practically breathless by the time he arrived at Town Hall. He had run all the way from the Holiday Doors in the Hinterlands without stopping, anxious to see whether Marie had been telling him the truth about Sally's whereabouts. Jack decided there was definitely something sinister about Marie. She had made him feel really uneasy with her cold, calculative attitude back in the woods...

Jack made a mental note to check on Dr. Finkelstein later. It's been a while since he had last seen the old Doctor and after witnessing Marie's behavior earlier that morning, he wanted to make sure the old man was okay!

Despite Jack's growing concern for the Doctor, he had more urgent matters to attend to at the moment. He sighed and headed up the steps leading to Town Hall briskly, covering the distance in two graceful strides. Checking on the Doctor would have to wait for now. First, he needed to find Sally and make sure she was okay…

The Pumpkin King was surprised to discover that Town Hall was bustling with activity as he threw open the front door and stepped inside. It looked almost as though everyone in Halloween Town was here this morning! Jack watched in stunned silence as some of the citizens carefully inspected crates filled with angry hissing snakes, while others brought out ladders and various other props from the storage room and stacked them against the far wall, clearly preparing to use them for something later on. The Mayor was holding a megaphone and reading from a piece of paper, calmly listing off a range of items and making sure they had everything that was required for tonight's festival, while some of other citizens were busy practicing what looked like carnival-themed games and activities.

Fortunately, everyone was so preoccupied in their tasks that no one noticed the Pumpkin King standing by the front door, anxiously scanning the crowd of monsters for Sally…

Finally, he saw her. Jack felt all the pent-up tension leaving his bones as his eye sockets picked out Sally in a corner by the stage. She was surrounded by a small group of werewolf children, who were howling along enthusiastically as she waved her arms and conducted their little orchestra. Sally's back was turned to Jack so she hadn't seen him yet, but the Pumpkin King noted that she appeared to be happy and completely unharmed.

All of a sudden, the Mayor stopped talking, swapping his happy face for his sad one as he noticed Jack walking down the center aisle of the Hall.

"J-Jack! What are you doing here?!" The Mayor gasped nervously and everyone else stopped what they were doing and turned to look anxiously at their King.

Sally froze at the front of the room at the mention of Jack's name and turned around hesitantly. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw him, then her face dropped with disappointment and she looked down quickly, unable to speak as the realization that the surprise she'd been planning for weeks has been ruined at the last moment.

Jack went up to the disheartened ragdoll and gently took her hands in his. "Oh Sally! I'm so relieved that you're okay!" He whispered gratefully, reaching up with one bony finger and tenderly brushing a loose strand of hair behind Sally's ear.

Sally looked up at him quizzically, startled by his statement. "Of course Jack. Why wouldn't I be okay?" Her forehead became crinkled with doubt as she tried to figure out how Jack had found out about her surprise. Did he follow her here without her knowing? Did someone accidentally let it slip to him? Did he figure it out on his own somehow…?

Sally sighed and cast her gaze to the ground dejectedly. "What are you doing here Jack? How did you know I was here?"

"It's a long story, my love." Jack replied quietly, his relief turning to guilt as he noticed how disappointed Sally looked. "I'll tell you all about it later. But in short, someone led me to believe that you were in danger this morning and guess who I stumbled across in the woods when I went to look for you…"

Jack's brow furrowed in contempt and he bared his teeth as he uttered the name of his old rival. "Oogie Boogie! I wasn't aware that vile creature is alive again!"

The Pumpkin King looked at Sally apologetically before adding, "And I'm sorry to say my love, but that good-for-nothing Marie was there with him and she was more than happy to spoil your surprise!"

There was a collective gasp from the crowd when Jack mentioned Oogie Boogie and everyone exchanged worried looks. The Boogeyman was back from the dead?! None of them had any idea that Oogie was back in Town and that thought was enough to dampen their former festive moods considerably.

A wave of apprehension suddenly spread through the crowd like wildfire. Fortunately, everyone was so busy murmuring to one another nervously, that they failed to notice three little Trick-or-Treaters backing out of the Hall with very grim expressions. Jack wasn't supposed to be here right now! Something must have gone terribly wrong with the plan…

Lock, Shock and Barrel managed to sneak out of the Hall without being seen. As soon as they were outside, they ran back towards their Treehouse as fast as their little legs could carry them. They were very anxious to find out if Marie and their former master were okay! Although they'd never admit it out loud, all three had grown surprisingly fond of Marie over these past few weeks and they prayed that Jack didn't do something awful to her when he found that what she'd been planning for him…

Meanwhile, everyone else was still talking loudly inside Town Hall. Sally looked absolutely devastated. She couldn't bring herself to look at Jack as she wiped a tear from her eye and spoke in a heartbroken whisper. "Oh Jack! Why does Marie hate me so much?! I've been working so hard on this surprise for you and now everything is ruined!"

Jack gave her a reassuring smile and gently wiped another tear as it slid out of the corner of Sally's eye and ran down her cheek. "My dearest Sally! Nothing is ruined! You can't imagine how touched I am by your thoughtful gesture!"

Sally sniffled and looked up at him shyly. Jack sighed, his voice filled with guilt as he went on quietly. "For too long, I've been self-absorbed! While I was bored and feeling sorry for myself, you and our wonderful Townsfolk have been working so hard to organize something great just to cheer me up!"

Jack cracked a small smile of appreciation and took Sally by the hand once more. Sally didn't say a word as she allowed him to lead her up the podium. She was still a little disappointed that Jack had found out about her surprise prematurely. But at least he appeared to be excited about her idea and in the end, she couldn't hide the proud smile on her face as she stood beside him on the stage while Jack addressed everyone in the room in his characteristically upbeat manner.

"Dear citizens! I understand that we have a festival to organize before nightfall! But before we go any further, I have a proposal to make..." Jack glanced at Sally reassuringly before continuing in a formal voice. "I am aware that this festival was intended to be a surprise and it still can be! I could leave right now and allow you all to get on with the preparations without my interference. Or I could stay and help you organize this special event! Either way, I am confident that we can make this festival the best celebration since this year's Halloween!"

A hush fell over the crowd as Jack finished speaking. Jack took that as a sign that the others preferred it if he let them get on with the preparations without his help and he nodded slowly in acceptance.

"That's okay. I understand…" He whispered resignedly and turned away from the podium to leave. But before he could take a step, he heard the distinct clicking sound of the Mayor switching his face around. Surely enough, when Jack looked back over his shoulder, he noticed the portly politician grinning at him with his happy face.

"Well my boy, since you're here now, we could sure use your help!" The Mayor said jovially.

Jack smiled and accepted the offer gratefully. Everyone in the crowd started cheering and talking excitedly as Sally and the Mayor pulled the Pumpkin King aside and informed him of the various activities that they'd planned for the festival. Pretty soon, Town Hall was buzzing with excitement once again as the preparations resumed.

While everyone was busy with the celebrations in the Hall, two solemn figures; one tall and elegant and the other rotund and cumbersome, crept through the Town's deserted streets and headed towards Doctor Finkelstein's Observatory like shadows in the early morning haze…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Sorry for updating this chapter later than usual guys! The past couple of weeks have been exceptionally busy for me and unfortunately I've found myself short on time lately. But things should start settling down again in a few weeks from now so hopefully I'll be able to update sooner in the future ;)**

 **As for this chapter itself, I know it wasn't very interesting compared to the earlier ones. But I felt like I had to tie some things in before we get back to Marie and Oogie's next dilemma…**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading this story so far for your support and encouragement (in reviews and silently!) And a special thanks to** _ **Tripledent**_ **and** _ **Hannah29K9**_ **for your wonderful feedback on the previous chapter:**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– That's a really good comparison you made between Oogie and the alien queen, LOL! It's true that Oogie is very persistent on winning Marie's affection and you'd think the guy would just take a hint already! But "love is blind" as the saying goes… I can assure you there will be some major drama at the Observatory and it's going to completely change the fate of one of our antagonists… :)**

 _ **Hannah29K9**_ **– You're welcome and thank** _ **you**_ **my friend for putting that Valentine's Town suggestion in my head :)** **Like I mentioned before, Oogie is very persistent in pursuing the object of his desire and he's not about to let her constant rejection deter him for long! Oh, there will definitely be trouble at the Observatory, and someone will never be the same afterwards… whether that's a good thing or not, is a matter of perspective but we'll just have to wait and see… ;)**

 **Svinorita.**


	12. Forsaken Fashion Doll (Part 1)

**Chapter 12 – Forsaken Fashion Doll (Part 1.)**

Doctor Finkelstein spent the whole morning waiting for Marie to come home. The old scientist sat by the window in Marie's room, anxiously scanning the quiet streets below as the early morning sun rose higher into the gloomy sky. His usually cranky demeanor was replaced with wholesome anticipation as he thought about how his rebellious creation might react when she discovered the beautiful jewelry he had left for her. But after waiting for several hours for Marie to return, the Old Doctor finally succumbed to a troubled sleep right where he was. Traces of the Deadly Nightshade Marie had slipped him last night were still in his system and he barely even stirred when Igor wheeled him back to his own room a short time later.

With the Doctor safely in his room, Igor was the only one to witness Marie and Oogie's arrival at the Observatory as the sun struggled to break through the thick layer of cloud late that morning. The hunchback let out a stifled yelp of panic as he heard the front door opening and Marie's boots clacking against the cold metal floor below, followed by the sound of Oogie's burlap feet shuffling into the Observatory behind her.

Igor had always felt uncomfortable around Marie, but lately she downright scared him. In his simple mind, Igor saw the diabolical creation for what she really was… evil, nasty and manipulative. Igor suspected that Marie had been deliberately poisoning the Doctor for some time now and that both he and his master were in grave danger somehow. However, it was the smelly Boogeyman that followed Marie around all the time lately that really put Igor on edge. He had heard the other Townsfolk saying horrific things about Oogie Boogie as well as rumors that Jack had fought and vanquished him a year ago. But Igor had seen Oogie with Marie for some time now so he knew the rumor about Jack defeating him was wrong. Oogie was very much alive and looking as formidable as ever!

As soon as Igor heard Oogie and Marie coming up the ramp, he ran to his room and hid under his bed like a frightened child. Which was just as well. Because moments later, Marie stormed into her own bedroom like a mythological Fury whose fuse was about to blow!

"I don't want to hear another word out of you, you useless sack of bugs!" Marie fumed angrily as Oogie followed her into the room with his head hung low in shame.

The blonde creation whirled back to face him, her eyes filled with resentment as she continued berating him mercilessly. "Congratulations! You've single-handedly ruined everything I've been planning meticulously for months! Now I'm never going to become the queen of this wretched Town!"

Oogie cast his gaze to the floor miserably as Marie threw her hands up in the air and growled in exasperation. "Thanks to you, I'm doomed to be a slave to that nagging old fossil till the day I die!"

Marie shuddered impulsively as she pictured herself serving Doctor Finkelstein for the rest of her life, because there was little doubt in her mind that old fool was going to outlive her! After all, the amount of Deadly Nightshade she had given him over the past few weeks should have been enough to kill an elephant by now! Marie really had no logical explanation as to how her creator was still alive and she was forced to accept the theory that perhaps the Doctor really was indestructible…

On that cheerful thought, Marie turned her attention back to Oogie and resumed directing her frustration at the forlorn Boogeyman. "Why, oh why did I have such high hopes for you when I resurrected you?! I should have done everything myself instead of wasting my time with you! Now I'll never get another chance of dethroning Jack and reshaping this godforsaken place to my liking!"

After a moment's hesitation, Oogie looked up at distraught creation. His expression conveyed a mixture of hurt and admiration as he spoke in a low whisper. "I know I messed up your plan irreparably, but all is not lost _yet_ my angel! You could still do the same thing that ragdoll sister of yours did…"

Marie met the Boogeyman's adoring gaze, her eyes searching his soulless black ones quizzically. Oogie gave her a charming smile and went on hopefully, "You could leave this place and that needy old man for a better life like Sally did!"

Now Oogie's voice rose in excitement and Marie actually began worrying that he might open his mouth and swallow her whole like she'd seen him do to that horde of bugs the night she and the Trick-or-Treaters had resurrected him.

Fortunately, Oogie had other ideas. Although the moment Marie learned of his intentions, she decided that perhaps being eaten by the Boogeyman would have been the far more merciful option in comparison…

"Why don't you come and live with me at the Treehouse? I'll treat you like the queen you deserve to be and cherish you forever! Your every desire will be granted and my little henchmen and I will serve you eternally!" Oogie vowed devotedly.

Marie felt like she'd been smacked in the face and it took her several seconds to find her voice. The blonde creation stared in disbelief at the grinning Boogeyman before replying sarcastically, "Wow! Is that supposed to be your idea of romantic?!"

Oogie blinked at her unsurely, his former confidence wavering slightly as Marie put her hands on her hips and began ranting indignantly. "You want me to ditch my needy old creator to go live with a smelly bug-infested Boogeyman and possibly three of the nastiest kids in Halloween Town?! You expect me to happily grow old, ugly and perhaps even fat like you?!"

Marie tapped her chin with one finger and regarded Oogie contemplatively. "What can I say? Tempting offer. Let me think about it…"

She stepped forward and got as close to Oogie's repulsive face as she dared. Her lip was curled in a spiteful sneer as she gritted her teeth and hissed savagely, "The answer is NO!"

With that, Marie turned her back to him and went to her bedside dresser to look for a soothing lotion to rub onto her badly bruised wrist.

Oogie stayed where he was by the door, looking absolutely crestfallen. He realized now that he would never win over Marie's affection no matter how hard he tried to impress her. After all, Marie had half of Doctor Finkelstein's brilliant brain and Oogie was just a humble Boogeyman!

Oogie sighed as he watched the object of his desire rifling through her dresser drawer, muttering profanity under her breath as she struggled to locate her tube of healing lotion. Oh how he wished that she could find it in her heart to love him even one percent! Even the tiniest bit of affection every now and then would be enough for Oogie and in turn, he'd cherish her forever!

But even with his limited intelligence, Oogie began to realize that Marie just didn't seem capable of loving anyone. During the past few weeks he'd spent with her following his resurrection, Oogie had learned that the only other thing Marie loved more than herself was power. It's almost as though the two halves of Doctor Finkelstein's brain (the half he kept and the half he gave to Marie upon creating her) were like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!

Oogie groaned and rubbed his head with the tip of one burlap hand. All this deep thinking was beginning to give him a headache! But the Boogeyman convinced himself that he finally saw the truth for what it was. In this case, Doctor Finkelstein was the equivalent of Dr. Jekyll whereas Marie was Mr. Hyde… or is that Mrs. Hyde…?

Either way, the Old Doctor was frail and sickly. Marie was young, beautiful and alluring! It's hardly surprising that she thought she deserved to be in charge! Oogie knew deep down that she had never cared about him and that she'd been using him all this time purely to obtain her own selfish goals.

But still. If she could try to love him even a tiny bit, Oogie was prepared to forgive her for everything!

Oogie was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't register Marie approaching him from the side. The blonde creation glared irritably at the distracted Boogeyman before slapping him roughly on the back of the head with her freshly bandaged hand and grumbling, "Hey Mr. Deep Thinker! I am no longer in need of your useless services! Why don't you show yourself out and go back to your worthless life so I can get on with mine!"

Oogie blinked at her dumbly. But before he could say anything, Marie noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something beautiful and shiny…

Oogie followed her gaze and saw what appeared to be a fancy jewelry box on the desk beside Marie's guillotine.

"Oh? That's new! I wonder what it could possibly be…" Marie said with mounting curiosity. She started making her way hastily towards the jewelry box. Her eyes were fixated firmly on her new prize, but unfortunately so were Oogie's. The Boogeyman was still ready to protect Marie with every last ounce of his strength and something about that box unsettled him deeply…

Fueled with a sudden sense of impending danger, Oogie rushed after Marie desperately, convinced there was something horrible inside that sparkly little box. What if it was a trap?! Maybe Doctor Finkelstein had finally gotten tired of Marie neglecting him and he'd created some nasty device intended to harm his precious angel?!

Oogie suddenly moved much faster than either Marie or he himself could ever have thought possible! He was one step ahead of her just as Marie reached the guillotine and was about to grab the jewelry box off of the desk. But before she could reach her prize, she tripped over one of Oogie's burlap feet and the momentum sent her stumbling headfirst in the direction of the guillotine…

The force of the impact made Oogie lose his balance too and he nearly fell over backwards. But just as he felt himself beginning to go down, Oogie caught sight of a silver, sparkling rope out of the corner of his eye and he reached for it instinctively in a desperate attempt to break his fall. He let out a startled groan and wrapped one burlap hand around the sparkly rope, holding onto it for dear life and yanking it swiftly downwards in the process…

Moments later, Marie's high-pitched shriek of pain reverberated throughout the Observatory, jolting Doctor Finkelstein out of his Nightshade-induced sleep down the hall and making Igor cover his head with this hands as he cowered under his own bed and whimpered like a petrified dog.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I hope you're all enjoying the suspense and thank you for being so patient between updates! I've been really busy lately and I know I've been making you guys wait longer for new chapters, but I'm trying my best to update whenever I get the chance ;)** **I hope the waits aren't putting some of you off** **and I want to thank you all again for seeing this story through so far :D**

 **As always, here's a special thank you to** _ **Tripledent**_ **and** _ **Hannah Melissa**_ **for your wonderful feedback and support:**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– Indeed! The poor Old Doctor is still oblivious to Marie's diabolical intentions ;) And poor Oogie too! He really messed up "royally" this time I fear… As for the festival going ahead now that everyone knows Oogie is back? Well it's going to take more than the threat of one of the most ruthless villains in Halloween Town's history to dampen the spirits of this crowd :)**

 _ **Hannah Melissa**_ **– I hear you on that one my friend! Maybe one of these days, poor old Doctor Fink will finally succeed in making a creation that will stay loyal to him for longer than a year, XD. I'm glad you enjoyed that touching little moment between Jack and Sally in the previous chapter! Don't worry! I'm sure Jack harbors no hard feelings towards the Doctor (or is it vice versa since Sally left Fink to be with Jack in the first place…) Only time will tell my friend :)**

 **Thank you also to** _ **Lilcolourblaze3**_ **for adding this story to your favorites list! I hope you decide to stick around for the next part! Until then, bye for now :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	13. Forsaken Fashion Doll (Part 2)

**Chapter 13 – Forsaken Fashion Doll (Part 2.)**

Oogie Boogie was struggling to comprehend the horrific scene in front of him. All he knew was less than a minute ago, he and Marie had both been rushing towards that mysterious shiny box the Doctor had left on the desk. Oogie had wanted to inspect it before Marie opened it, just in case it turned out to be a booby-trap. But before he could reach the box, Marie had tripped over his foot and pushed him backwards! Oogie didn't have time to think properly. He'd instinctively grabbed for the nearest object to stop himself from falling.

Unfortunately, the nearest object had happened to be the guillotine's bejeweled execution chord and Oogie had grabbed onto it just as the momentum of their collision sent Marie stumbling headfirst towards the pink contraption's lethal blade…

What happened next was like a nightmarish blur to Oogie. The force of Marie slamming into him had winded him and the shock of being shoved dangerously off-balance meant he wasn't able to pull her out of harm's way quickly enough! Oogie managed to catch a glimpse of the guillotine's razor-sharp blade hurtling down towards Marie's neck just as her head passed underneath its deadly trajectory. Then there was a sickening slicing sound as it made contact with the hapless creation and Oogie had looked on mortified as Marie's head was severed cleanly at the base of the neck!

The sound of Marie's earsplitting death cry echoed throughout the Observatory, chilling Oogie to his rotten core. Marie's decapitated head twisted in the air as it fell towards the ground and she locked eyes with her executioner one last time.

"CLUMSY MORON!" She managed to utter with her dying breath before her head hit the ground with an awful _THUMP!_

Oogie let out a heartbroken scream that shook the Observatory to its foundations. He dropped to his knees and scooped Marie's severed head into his trembling arms. "No! My Precious Angel!"

The Boogeyman's normally deep, booming voice sounded frantic and shaky as he gazed into her lifeless eyes and pleaded inconsolably. "Please! Talk to me, my beautiful Marie!"

Marie's eyes glazed over and rolled back into her head as she opened her mouth wordlessly. Over by the guillotine, her body gave one final spasm before going limp and Oogie knew that she was dead. Autumn leaves like the kind that made up Sally's stuffing, in addition to small pieces of foam covered the floor around the base of the guillotine and trickled out of the gaping hole where Marie's head had been severed from her body. But Oogie was too distraught to notice as he cradled Marie's head in his hands and kissed her face desperately.

He whispered her name again and begged her to come back to him. But Marie could no longer hear him. Her heart had stopped beating the moment her head (and more importantly, Doctor Finkelstein's brain) had been separated from her body. Oogie repeated his heartfelt plea and tried shaking Marie's decapitated head in his hands in a final desperate attempt to elicit a reaction from her. But of course his efforts were futile and the heartbroken Boogeyman threw back his own head and unleashed a deafening cry of anguish.

 **"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

Oogie's roar was so loud, that the soundwave it generated nearly blew Doctor Finkelstein right out of his wheelchair as the old scientist poked his head into the room from the hallway to see what all the commotion was about.

"Marie! What in the name of Halloween is going on in here…?" The Doctor stopped abruptly, shocked into speechlessness when he saw Oogie Boogie in all his stinking burlap glory standing in the middle of Marie's room.

"What are YOU doing here?!" The Doctor managed to breathe in a small shell-shocked voice. Oogie is alive?! How is that even possible?! Jack had destroyed that treacherous Boogeyman over a year ago…

Then an even bigger wave of shock came over Dr. Finkelstein as Oogie turned to face him and he saw Marie's severed head in the Boogeyman's hands! The Doctor glanced in the direction of the guillotine and noticed his creation's lifeless body slumped underneath the blade, a large pile of red and brown leaves and foam scattered around the floor like a crime scene.

"What have you done to my precious doll?!" Doctor Finkelstein demanded shrilly. His eyes were wide behind his glasses and his mouth hung open in disbelief as he turned his gaze back to Oogie accusingly.

Oogie hugged Marie's head to his chest protectively, his voice full of defiance as he bellowed, "She's not your doll! You treated her like a slave and made her life miserable!" Oogie looked down at Marie's dead face and stroked her blonde hair lovingly. "She was my one true love!"

Doctor Finkelstein shook his head in bewilderment. "Look. I don't know what gave you that ridiculous impression, but I can tell you this old chap… Marie was never a slave to me or anyone else! She was my companion and I was extremely fond of her!"

The Doctor paused and glanced at Marie's severed head in Oogie's arms with a mixture of remorse and admiration. "She was the finest creation I ever made and I often spoiled her with gifts fit for a queen!"

Dr. Finkelstein nodded towards the desk where the small shiny box that had led to this carnage sat unopened. "Those beautiful jewels over there were my latest gift to her. But she'll never get a chance to revel in them now…"

Oogie looked incredulously from Dr. Finkelstein to the jewelry box and back again. Jewels?! Marie had lost her life over a stupid box of jewels?! Oogie couldn't believe what he was hearing! He wanted to throw this smug old man under the guillotine himself for the injustice his stupid gift had caused! But then Oogie realized the old fool was talking again and he found himself enraptured by what the Doctor was saying…

"Nevertheless, Marie WAS a doll!" The Doctor stated matter-of-factly. "My other creation; Sally, is a ragdoll and in order to avoid having messy leaves falling out everywhere like in Sally's case, I made Marie's body out of a special velvety synthetic material that I designed especially for her! I wanted her to be even more lifelike than my previous creations, so I added tiny inbuilt sensors into Marie's skin that could detect heat and cold as well as pain! Then I stuffed her with leaves just like Sally but I also added small amounts of foam to give her a bit more stability in her movements."

Dr. Finkelstein maneuvered his wheelchair next to Marie's headless body and carefully picked up one of her arms. He pressed his fingertips against her smooth synthetic skin and spoke to Oogie without looking at him. "Come here and touch her arm like this. Notice how realistic it feels to the touch? Her skin is so soft and look! It's still warm!"

Oogie lumbered over to the guillotine and with one hand still clutching Marie's head possessively, trailed the tip of his other burlap hand along Marie's arm like the Doctor had instructed him to. The Boogeyman let out a small gasp of surprise at the unexpected warmth radiating from Marie's arm. He had never gotten the chance to touch her before, since Marie never allowed him to get as close to her as he would have liked. Now as Oogie stood there gently caressing Marie's lifeless arm, he realized that it felt even more wonderful than he ever imagined and his deep black eye holes momentarily widened with pleasure.

Then Oogie glanced back at her head still nestled in his other arm and he unleashed a shuddering sob of despair. "Oh! What have I done?! I've destroyed the beautiful creature that brought me back to life! She was the only one I ever loved!"

Dr. Finkelstein gave a bemused snort from beside the grief-stricken Boogeyman. "Hey! Pull yourself together! Accidents DO happen…" He regarded Oogie with a cynical expression before adding tartly, _"You_ are living proof of the consequences of poor judgement from an otherwise brilliant mind!"

"Speaking of which…" The Doctor maneuvered his wheelchair in front of Oogie, shooting him an impatient glare from behind his dark glasses as he gestured to Marie's head in the Boogeyman's hands. "May I?"

Before Oogie had a chance to argue, Dr. Finkelstein leaned forward in his chair and snatched Marie's head out of his grasp. The old scientist stared down at his creation's pretty face and there was an unmistakable note of relief in his voice as he announced, "Since Marie won't be needing my brain anymore, I'm going to return it to its rightful place now!"

With that, Dr. Finkelstein expertly opened Marie's hinged skullcap and reached into her head to remove the half of his brain he had given to her. But as he was attempting to pry his brain free from Marie's skull cavity, he suddenly encountered some unexpected resistance. Dr. Finkelstein began huffing and grunting with effort, at one point even pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow with the back of one hand as he struggled to get his brain out of Marie's head.

Oogie stood nearby, watching the old man with a concerned expression. "Do you need my help Doctor?" He offered uncertainly.

"That's awfully generous of you Oogie, but I'm afraid not. I wouldn't want you to turn my poor brain into mashed potato with your brute strength!" The Doctor couldn't help cackling a little despite his current predicament. "Marie certainly knew a good thing when she had it! Even in death, she's still reluctant to part ways with my brilliant brain!"

With a final tug of effort, Dr. Finkelstein succeeded in prying his brain out of Marie's head. "Boy am I glad to see you again!" He said proudly as he admired the wrinkly organ briefly before unhinging his own skullcap like he'd done countless times in the past. But just as he was about to reunite his brain with its other half, he noticed there appeared to be a tiny piece missing from the bottom corner of the frontal lobe…

"What?!" The Doctor looked back into Marie's hollow skull cavity and saw that a tiny sliver of his brain was still wedged firmly inside her head. He let out a small sigh and shrugged with resignation. "Oh well. I guess I could let her keep a measly 10% of my brain for good time's sake!"

He chuckled before placing the remaining half of his brain back into his own head and closing his skullcap with a distinctive clang. "After all, I've been functioning perfectly with only half a brain for over a year now, so I'm sure I'll manage just fine without that tiny little piece!"

Satisfied with having the majority of his brain back where it belongs, Dr. Finkelstein looked at Marie's severed head once more and a small smile of affection crept across his weathered old face.

" _She sure was pretty…"_ He thought to himself reflectively.

A devious grin slowly spread over the Doctor's lips as he held her head in both hands and whispered tauntingly, "Well my _Precious Jewel,_ I think we're going to have to change your name again! We can't call you _Marie Imnotdeadyet_ anymore because frankly my dear, you are as dead as a doornail now! Perhaps I ought to start calling you _Precious-Has-Been-Jewel_ from now on…"

Dr. Finkelstein chuckled to himself evilly as he positioned his wheelchair next to the desk by the guillotine and carefully placed Marie's head next to the jewelry box that he'd intended to surprise her with earlier. Boy, was she surprised alright! Just not in the way either of them could ever have predicted…

Meanwhile, Oogie was still standing next to the guillotine, staring at Marie's headless body and the pile of leaves around his feet forlornly. The Doctor turned in his chair and shot him an irritated look. That moping moron had definitely outstayed his welcome and Dr. Finkelstein was seriously beginning to lose his patience with his unwanted guest.

"Why are you still here?! I have a lot of work to do and you're in my way!" The old scientist grumbled moodily. He gestured towards the door dismissively and snapped, "Go show yourself out so I can get Igor to clean up this mess!"

With that, Dr. Finkelstein started wheeling himself away from the guillotine. But Oogie blocked his path like a huge imposing wall of burlap, his expression twisted into a menacing scowl and his hands planted on his hips defiantly. "Oh, I don't think so! I'm not going anywhere until you help me, Old Man!"

Oogie's booming tone made it quite clear that he wasn't _'asking.'_ The Doctor shifted in his chair nervously but somehow managed to keep his expression impassive as the Boogeyman pointed back to Marie's body and insisted hopefully, "You're the one who created Marie and you claim that she's a doll. So can't you just put her back together again or something?"

Dr. Finkelstein frowned at Oogie disbelievingly. "And why should I?! She's no longer of any use to me and besides, she turned out to be even more unreliable than Sally!"

The Doctor threw a disapproving glance at Marie's severed head on the desk and added begrudgingly, "She didn't bother to use my brain for the purpose I had intended when I made her..." He waved his hands in the air in an exaggerated motion and stated, "...to keep me company in this wretched old building and take care of me! No! If anything, Marie was extremely selfish and negligent! I see absolutely no point in fixing her so she can betray me again!"

Oogie groaned and shook his burlap head at this brash assumption. His voice sounded less angry than it had before as he corrected the Doctor encouragingly, "No! I meant could you put her back together for _me?"_

Dr. Finkelstein snorted and regarded the Boogeyman with a questioning look. "Aren't you a bit too old to be playing with dolls, son?"

"I'm not going to play with her!" Oogie bellowed defensively, then tapped his chin with the tip of one burlap hand thoughtfully before admitting, "Unless she's up for some gambling every now and then…"

Oogie glanced in the direction of Marie's head and sighed adoringly. "I just want to love and cherish her forever!"

"Well…" Dr. Finkelstein looked contemplatively from Oogie to his decapitated creation slumped over the guillotine. He opened his skullcap absently to scratch his brain like he often did when he was deep in thought. Finally, he closed the top of his head again and spoke more to himself than to Oogie as he decided, "I suppose I could arrange something for you. I'll have to stuff some more leaves and foam into her body to replace the amount she lost and glue her head back on with my powerful new adhesive gel."

The Doctor grinned proudly to himself and boasted, "It's so strong that it can practically glue mountains together you know!"

Oogie shuddered a little as he remembered accidentally gluing himself to the forest floor with the Doctor's super strong adhesive earlier this morning. "Yeah, I know…" he mumbled in agreement.

Dr. Finkelstein tilted his head at the Boogeyman and raised his brow in confusion. _"Well! He's either extremely eager to get Marie back or extremely stupid! How could he possibly know anything about my glue?! I haven't told anyone about it yet! Not even Igor…"_

The Doctor cleared his throat loudly and went on in a serious tone. "Let's get one thing clear though: I'm not giving her half of my brain again!" He looked at Oogie doubtfully before suggesting, "Is there a tiny bit you could spare by any chance…?"

Oogie scratched the top of his burlap head thoughtfully. "Well…I guess I could give up a bug or two for my beautiful angel." He looked down at the Doctor hopefully. "Do you think that will be enough?"

"Probably not." Dr. Finkelstein replied without hesitation. He wheeled himself over to Marie's body and hauled it out from underneath the guillotine's blade with a grunt, sending more leaves fluttering to the floor in the process. He carefully propped her body against the wall to prevent any more leaves from falling out the hole in her neck and explained, "Since she won't be able to talk without my brain controlling her, I'm going to have to install a small voice recorder into her and we can pre-record a few phrases that you'd like her to say. You'll have to manipulate her arms and legs artificially of course because she won't be able to move on her own anymore. But apart from that, does this arrangement satisfy you?"

Oogie practically danced with delight, a huge smile plastered on his burlap face as he nodded at the Doctor eagerly. "Yes! I'm more than happy with that, Old Man! I just want to have my Precious Angel back with me again!"

Suddenly, Oogie's expression changed. His brow furrowed in concentration and he tapped his chin with one hand as though he had become lost in his thoughts.

Doctor Finkelstein coughed loudly to get the Boogeyman's attention. "What are you waiting for now?! I told you I'm going to fix Marie for you, so leave already!" He grumbled sourly.

Oogie ignored the old scientist, his frown deepening in confusion as he mumbled, "I'm just trying to think about what kind of phrases I'd like Marie to say…"

The Doctor rolled his eyes impatiently. "I'm sure that's going to take some time for you to decide!" He waved his fist in Oogie's face and snapped irritably, "I'm an old frail man and I need my rest! Since you've deprived me of my slav- I mean _assistant,_ I think you ought to go home and think about those phrases very carefully!"

Dr. Finkelstein maneuvered his wheelchair around Oogie's towering bulk and started heading for the door, adding over his shoulder grumpily, "Get back to me in a few days' time and I'll see what I can do…if I don't starve to death by then! Who's supposed to cook for me now that Marie is no longer around?!"

Oogie chuckled amicably from behind the Doctor. "Oh don't you worry about that, Old Man! Since you're going to help me get my beautiful angel back, I'll personally cook a special batch of my delicious snake and spider stew just for you!"

This announcement made Dr. Finkelstein stop in his tracks! But when he turned around to face the Boogeyman again, the old scientist was smiling at him appreciatively. "That's very thoughtful of you Oogie. Perhaps you're not as bad as everyone has been led to believe you are…"

Oogie grinned back at the Doctor mysteriously. "Well now, that's a gamble you're going to have to take, Old Man! Just as I have taken a gamble on your ability to restore the love of my life to me…"

" _And you'd better not let me down or else_ _ **you'll**_ _end up as a secret ingredient in my snake and spider stew!"_ Oogie thought to himself maliciously. He took one last look at Marie's face on the desk beside her jewelry box before squeezing past the Doctor and letting himself out of the front door.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **This chapter was both, incredibly fun to write but also pretty challenging! I bet some of you were surprised to discover that Marie had been a doll all this time! But I decided that since she's a creation like Sally, she must be stuffed with leaves like her (I suggested she was stuffed with foam in addition to the leaves because her movements looked much more coordinated and graceful in the movie compared to Sally's clumsy stumbling gait!) But unlike Sally, she also had half of Doctor Finkelstein's brain controlling her, so I suspect she'd have at least some perception of pain (like I demonstrated in one of my previous chapters where her wrist got severely bruised after Jack grabbed her too tightly…) This also means that unlike some of the monsters in Halloween Town who are capable of removing their heads or limbs without harming themselves, Marie probably doesn't have this ability. In other words, if her head were chopped off by the guillotine, she** _ **can**_ **die because it was Dr. Finkelstein's brain that had been keeping her alive in first place!**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter and that you decide to stick around and find out what happens next (this story still has a few chapters to go, but we're getting closer to the end now :)**

 **Once again, I'd like to send a special thank you to the following people for their wonderful, _wonderful_ feedback: **

_**Tripledent**_ **– Oogie sure is a walking disaster area, LOL! And you're absolutely right! He definitely wasn't much of a befriender before Marie resurrected him (although he has been working on his friendship skills with the Doctor as you saw in this chapter…or has he ;) I'd also like to give you an extra-special thanks for showing your support in every single story I've written so far! You are officially the only person who has reviewed every chapter of every story I've written to date and I want to thank you for that my friend! You are AWESOME! (Or as we like to say here in Oz: You're a real Ripper Mate :)**

 _ **Hannah Melissa**_ **– Thanks! That comment you made about Oogie taking himself out Romeo style, really cracked me up! XD. That would be both hilarious and incredibly noble of him at the same time! You were right about him wanting to resurrect Marie like she'd done for him (although he lacks the necessary skills and brainpower to accomplish it on his own…) But that's where Dr. Finkelstein comes in and I agree, he certainly got a lot more than he bargained for when he woke up from his nap ;) I'm thrilled you enjoyed my little response to your previous review! I'm afraid Dr. Fink has his hands full with restoring Marie for Oogie right now but at least the Boogeyman's persistence paid off in the end and he finally got his prize…well sort of! Still, it looks like at least one of them (Oogie or Marie) will get their happy ending after all :)**

 **I'd also like to send a huge thank you to** _ **Fairytale Lover1**_ **for the wonderful review and for choosing to favorite this story! I wish you the best of luck with your own story too my friend :)**

 **See you all in the next chapter friends :D**

 **Svinorita.**


	14. Monster Show

**WARNING: This chapter is very loooong! We've finally come to Sally's festival and there was just so much to cover in this chapter! In the end, I decided it just didn't feel right to split this section into two parts like I did in some of my earlier chapters…**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this festival as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – Monster Show.**

The evening of the long-awaited festival had finally arrived. There was a buzz of excitement and anticipation in the air as the residents of Halloween Town gathered in Town Square and helped Sally organize the medley of fun activities before nightfall.

Seeing everyone in such high spirits and good cheer made Sally smile to herself proudly, but at the same time she couldn't help feeling a little bit nervous about tonight's celebration. She had spent months planning this special event and try as she might, she couldn't stop worrying whether everything would go according to plan and most importantly, if Jack would enjoy himself tonight. She just wanted to cheer him up more than anything and hopefully this festival would leave Jack as well as everyone else in Town with fond memories to talk about for a long time afterwards…

As the sun began to set over the gloomy landscape of their world, the residents of Halloween Town decided they didn't want to wait until nightfall to get the festivities under way! So by the late afternoon, the food stalls were already set up around Town Square and everyone started helping themselves to the vast selection of spine-chilling delicacies on offer.

Just as he'd promised earlier, the Mayor had prepared most of the food himself (although the witch sisters; Helgamine and Zeldaborn had offered to help him with some of the cooking.) Needless to say, his efforts earned him much praise and compliments from the crowd of hungry monsters as they eagerly sampled his mouth-watering dishes!

There were several cauldrons of snake, rat and pumpkin stew as well as barbequed bats and flame grilled lizards filling the air with delightful smells. Clown rode his unicycle through the crowd, balancing a serving tray in one hand and offering fried crickets and spiders to anybody who was interested in trying them. Sally had even baked a few batches of henbane and myrtle muffins, and much to her delight, they proved to be a real hit with the Town's younger inhabitants; who tucked into the sweet, mildly poisonous treats with unrestrained enthusiasm!

By the time the sun had disappeared over the horizon and the first stars of the evening were visible in the sky, the festival got underway with some children's activities. A makeshift stage had been set up near the entrance to Town Hall and with Sally playing the role of conductor, the young werewolf choir launched the festival with their carefully rehearsed howling symphony.

Pretty soon, a large crowd had assembled in front of the stage to cheer on the talented little werewolf pups as they howled their hearts out for the audience. Just as they were reaching the climax of their dirge, Barrel pushed his way to the front of the crowd and tried to howl along with them. Even though the little ghoul was hopelessly off tune, many of the onlookers applauded him generously for his efforts and Sally finally allowed him to take his place center-stage among the startled werewolf pups, who tried to carry on howling despite Barrel's unexpected intrusion in their act! Before long, Barrel had stolen not only the spotlight, but also the hearts of every monster watching from the crowd below!

As soon as the dirge had ended, Shock decided to join the other young witches in their broomstick race around the cemetery. Although she had only learned how to ride a broom a few weeks ago, Shock was feeling confident that she could beat the other witches easily and the fact that she hadn't bothered to bring her own broom along tonight didn't deter her in the slightest! Snickering to herself wickedly, she hid in some bushes near the starting area of the course, which had been marked by small flags tied to a number of trees around the graveyard. There she waited as the other young witches made their way excitedly to the start line, carrying their cherished brooms with them.

Finally Shock saw a little witch that was much younger than herself and she jumped out of her hiding place like a lioness ambushing her unsuspecting prey. The younger witch squealed in surprise when Shock snatched her broom out of her hands, laughing meanly as she pushed her victim over and ran off with her broom!

"Hey! She stole my broom!" The little witch protested as Shock's mocking laughter echoed in her ears. But no one had witnessed the theft and the young witch began to sniffle as she picked herself up off the ground and ran back to her mother in tears.

Shock meanwhile, was feeling very pleased with her successful heist. She pushed her way to the front of the line and mounted her stolen broom as she waited impatiently for the announcer to call the start of the race. Helgamine, being the most seasoned and respected witch in Town, did the honors and at her signal the young racers leapt onto their brooms and took flight as the race began.

After the first few corners, Shock shot ahead of the competition and seemed to be unbeatable! One by one, the other witches fell further and further behind her as Shock zipped through the darkening sky and cackled with glee. She was going to win!

She rounded the final corner and glanced behind her, delighted to see that the other racers were so far behind, it would take a miracle for them to catch her now! Then all of a sudden, Shock felt something small and hard hit her in the backside and she cried out in…well _shock_ as she struggled to regain control of her broom. But it was too late! Before she could correct her momentum, Shock's broom tilted steeply downwards and the young witch was dumped flat on her face just feet from the finish line. Above her, she could hear the whoosh of the other racers' brooms as they flew over her head and crossed the finish line with wild cries of excitement.

By the time she dusted off her dress and scrambled to her feet, Shock realized that she had gone from winning the race to dead last in the blink of an eye!

"No! That's so unfair!" Shock fumed angrily. She looked behind her and saw the small stone that had hit her in the butt, causing her to crash-land and lose the race. The young witch cursed and kicked the stupid rock with her boot, her rage fueled by the cheers from the crowd as they gathered around the finish line to congratulate the winners.

That's when she heard a familiar laugh coming from a nearby tree and the reason for her getting knocked out of the race suddenly made sense now...

Still muttering to herself angrily, Shock craned her neck to see Lock sneering down at her from the branches above her head. Brandishing his slingshot in one hand, he proceeded to taunt her further by throwing another stone at her hat, his sharp devil teeth glinting ominously in the moonlight.

"LOCK!" Shock screamed furiously, folding her arms over her chest and glaring up at the little devil with loathing. "Why did you do that, you idiot! You made me lose the race!"

Lock swished his tail at his enraged cohort mockingly, his toothy grin growing wider as he peered down at her from his perch and snickered. "You know I can't resist shooting a moving target Shock! Besides, you cheated!" He pointed to the broom in her hand and shook his head, making an exaggerated _tsk, tsk_ sound.

"We both know that's not your broom and most of the other witches in that race were younger than you!" Lock raised his brow and stated in a teasing voice, "That race was practically for little babies! You looked like an old crone out there!"

Shock growled and threw her stolen broom at Lock's head like a spear. But the little devil ducked and managed to dodge it easily as the broom sailed over his head harmlessly and became stuck in the tree next to his.

"Nice one! You throw like an old grandma Shock!" Lock taunted the infuriated young witch from his lofty perch.

Shock gritted her teeth and kicked the base of the tree Lock was sitting in spitefully. "Why do you have to be such a party pooper Lock?! You think you're so smart, but you look like a dumb cat stuck in that tree! So who's the one that looks ridiculous now, huh?!"

With that, Shock turned on her heel and started trudging back in the direction of Town Square. Maybe there were some other lame kid's activities she could unleash her frustration in and take her mind off of being denied victory in the broomstick race…

Luckily for her, Shock arrived just in time to watch a bunch of zombie kids shuffling around comically as they attempted to dance to the music being played by the Halloween Town Band. The little witch snickered as she caught sight of the diminutive mummy boy that usually hung out with Ethan the corpse kid. He was moving his little arms and legs stiffly, trying to copy the zombies' shuffling dance from the edge of the group.

" _His moves are even more pathetic than theirs! What a loser!"_ Shock thought to herself haughtily.

Meanwhile, Lock had stealthily followed the young witch back to Town Square and was contemplating playing another prank on her. But he too found the zombies' dancing highly amusing and being the little devil that he is, couldn't resist trying to mock them! Shoving his slingshot back into his pocket, Lock waited until the troupe of shuffling, lurching zombie kids passed by him. Then he jumped out behind them and held his own arms stiffly in front of himself, imitating their awkward movements whilst doing his best to mimic the stupefied expression on the faces of the clueless young zombies.

Shock watched her devilish cohort with barely disguised contempt. She was still mad at Lock for making her lose the broomstick race. But the cunning little witch saw an opportunity to get even with her mischievous friend as the troupe of dancing zombies suddenly changed direction and started shuffling towards her and the small group of onlookers that had gathered to watch their stupid dance.

Shock stifled a nasty little cackle as she waited for the zombie children to dance past her, Lock bringing up the rear as he did an exaggerated imitation of their dance moves and pulled derogatory faces behind their backs. The young witch practically bristled with excitement as she waited for Lock to pass directly in front of her. Then quick as a flash, she made her move!

Lock was known to have pretty fast reflexes. But he was so focused on making fun of the dimwitted zombie kids that he totally disregarded Shock, who stuck out her foot and tripped him up as he danced past her! With a startled yelp, Lock was sent careening into the back of the mummy boy, who in turn, bumped into the young zombie in front of him. This ended up causing a domino effect as one by one, every last zombie kid was knocked to the ground amid a chorus of confused moans and grunts.

Before long, everyone in the assembled crowd of onlookers burst out in raucous laughter at the sight of all those hapless zombie children rolling around on the ground, their stiff little arms and legs flailing around feebly as they struggled to get back up again. Shock's laughter was the loudest of all, her high-pitched cackle piercing the night air as she relished the fact that she had made Lock look like an idiot in front of everyone!

" _Serves him right for shooting me out of the broomstick race earlier!"_ Shock told herself with extreme self-satisfaction. _"Maybe he should think twice before pulling one of his stupid pranks on me again!"_

Lock finally managed to disentangle himself from the pile of flailing zombie limbs and leapt to his feet with an irritated snarl. It didn't take long for his yellow eyes to zero in on Shock, who was still chuckling to herself smugly at the edge of the crowd and he launched himself in her direction furiously.

"SHOCK! You're in for it now, you annoying little witch!" Lock growled warningly. Shock made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a squeal as she turned and started running from Lock, who was hot on her heels like a cheetah chasing his prey.

Pretty soon, the two Trick-or-Treaters were out of sight as they chased each other down the street while the uncoordinated zombie kids finally succeeded in picking themselves up off the ground and exchanged confused looks with one another. They noticed that everyone was laughing, but they didn't understand what was so funny. All they knew was that one moment they were dancing and having a great time and the next, they were all in a pile on the ground while something hilarious happened that they'd missed because everyone had suddenly burst into laughter!

Over by the fountain, Jack smiled happily as he and Sally watched the dazed zombie children resume their awkward little dance as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Apparently, zombies have very short memory spans and the confusion of finding themselves unexpectedly sprawled out on the ground was quickly forgotten as they started swaying and lurching to the melancholy music once again.

Jack turned to Sally and gave her an adoring look before looping a long skeletal arm around her shoulders and drawing her into a tight hug. "Oh Sal! I haven't had this much fun in a long time!"

He nodded towards the dancing zombie kids a short distance away and said with a chuckle, "Seeing those kids rolling around on the ground like that made me laugh so hard, my ribs are sore!"

Sally glanced at his face and smiled shyly before looking away again. She was so glad that Jack seemed to be having a good time so far and hearing him laugh filled her with such joy, that most of her prior worries about the festival being a success slowly disappeared. But there was still something bothering her and as her eyes scanned over the crowd of excited, partying monsters around them, Sally began to feel a little uneasy. Where was Marie?! Sally thought it was strange that her sister creation hadn't shown up for the festival yet. After all, Marie had proposed the idea for many of the activities in tonight's celebration and Sally guessed her sister would at least be curious to find out how popular her ideas were with the other townsfolk…

Jack suddenly sensed the ragdoll's unease. His smile was replaced with a concerned frown as he looked at her and saw her disappointed expression. "What's the matter my love? Everyone loves the wonder you created for us tonight! Yet you look so tense and nervous…"

Sally sighed dismally. "I don't know Jack. It's just that I haven't seen Marie or Dr. Finkelstein anywhere tonight. Have you?" Even as she spoke to Jack, Sally's eyes continued roving over the crowd restlessly and without realizing it, she began voicing the thought that had been troubling her so deeply all evening. "Marie was the one who came up with most of these activities and I thought she'd want to be here for sure. Then when you told us this morning that Oogie Boogie is back in our midst, I can't stop worrying that he might try to do something terrible to ruin our fun!"

Sally felt Jack's bony hand squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. Then she heard him whisper quietly, "My dearest friend! I promise you that I won't let anything ruin this wonderful evening for any of us."

Sally looked up at him hesitantly and noticed that he was smiling warmly. "Relax and try to enjoy yourself, my love!" Jack said encouragingly. "The grumpy old Doctor is probably just being fussy as usual! He forgot how to have fun a long time ago and is probably keeping Marie busy with his needs. I'm sure she'll come down and join us as soon as she gets the opportunity to do so…"

Jack's tone suddenly turned bitter and he frowned before adding, "As for Oogie, I can assure you that I gave him quite a scare in the woods this morning. If he knows what's good for him, he wouldn't dare show his face around here tonight!"

The Pumpkin King turned his attention back to Sally and smiled at her fondly once more. "Tell you what, my love. Let's just try to have a good time tonight and if Marie and the Doctor still don't turn up by the end of the festival, I promise that we'll go pay them a visit later and check whether everything is alright."

Jack suddenly pulled Sally into another affectionate hug which made her laugh out loud. Before long, he was laughing along with her and the two of them stood gazing into each other's eyes with pure adoration.

"Now that's better! That beautiful smile could light up the darkest night like a million stars!" Jack whispered, tenderly brushing a lock of Sally's hair behind her ear with a bony finger.

Sally felt her heart fluttering with pure happiness as they exchanged a passionate kiss. Then she allowed Jack to take her by the hand and they walked through the bustling streets together, stopping to talk to some of the excited citizens along the way and even participating in a few of the fun activities themselves.

The festive atmosphere in Town really ramped up as the night wore on and the children's games gave way to competitions and challenges more suited for the adult monsters. Although by this point, most of Halloween Town's adult citizens were acting like hyperactive children themselves! The food stalls were proving to be just as popular as the multitude of activities on offer and at one point, the Mayor became quite worried as he watched several of his fellow townspeople devouring the dwindling food supply with such gusto, they were beginning to get a little wild!

Several half-empty cauldrons of stew had been overturned and a massive food fight had erupted just outside Town Hall. The building's entire façade was coated in globs of snake and rat stew while a few monsters threw pumpkins at each other like grenades, splattering not only one another but every unfortunate surface in the nearby vicinity in sticky pumpkin guts. As if that wasn't bad enough, some of the other residents seemed to have taken the concept of mock warfare a little too literally and were getting stuck into each other with whatever weapons they had at their disposal… teeth, claws, horns, tentacles were all being utilized in mock physical combat (albeit minus the intention to cause injury!) The aim of these fights seemed to be purely for fun… just monsters getting a little carried away in their excitement. Nothing sinister! Even though it looked rather vicious, no one appeared to be getting hurt or maimed. So far…

Finally, the Mayor decided to approach Jack with his growing concern over a few of the monsters' food-fueled rowdiness. He found the Pumpkin King standing near the fountain with Sally. They were currently talking to Undersea Gal and the Mayor hurried over to them as fast as he could.

"Jack! Do you remember how many monsters signed up for the Snake Wrestling Championship?" The Mayor asked as he pulled up beside Jack breathlessly. Being stressed out always made the portly politician feel short of breath and after seeing how unruly some of the Town's residents were becoming, he was growing more anxious by the second!

"I believe it was only two Mayor: Behemoth and The Man under the Stairs." Jack replied casually. He noticed the Mayor's nervousness and raised his brow at him quizzically. "Why do you ask? Is there something wrong?"

The Mayor swiveled his head around so that his unhappy face was showing and glanced over his shoulder anxiously. "Oh Jack! I'm just worried that they've eaten so much that if they were to get squeezed by the giant snake, they might get sick!"

The Mayor wrung his hands together fretfully and mumbled under his breath, "If that were to happen, who do you suppose would be expected to clean up the mess tomorrow… Me!"

Jack chuckled and waved his hand at the Mayor dismissively. "I'm sure they'll be alright Mayor. Why don't you come join me and Sally in watching the Wife Carrying Competition in the meantime? It's going to begin in a few minutes and I'm sure it will help take your mind off your worries!"

Jack didn't wait for the Mayor to reply before turning his attention back to Sally and asking her in a slightly teasing tone, "What do you think my love? Should we enter the Wife Carrying Contest too?"

Sally felt herself blushing and quickly turned her gaze to the ground bashfully. "Oh…I'd prefer to just watch if it's okay with you? It's just that I've been organizing this festival for so long and I'm really tired…"

Sally shrugged and forced herself to meet Jack and the Mayor's eyes as she confessed, "I'm happy to just sit back and watch everyone else have fun tonight."

Jack sighed and regarded the ragdoll with mock-disapproval. "Spoil sport…" He mumbled jokingly. Then he took her by the hand gently and headed towards the Pumpkin Patch where the Wife Carrying Race was scheduled to take place. The Mayor threw one final nervous look in the direction of the food stalls/war zone, before following Jack and Sally to the racecourse that had been set up in the Pumpkin Patch just outside of Town.

The three of them arrived just in time to hear Harlequin Demon call the start of the race. Jack, Sally and the Mayor joined the group of cheering spectators who'd gathered to watch this highly unusual event as the participating couples took off like racehorses out of the start gate at Harlequin's signal.

Well, all of them except for the corpse couple. Due to Bertha's exceptionally curvaceous figure, her husband; Ned was obviously having great difficulty in trying to support his wife's large mass on his back. He strained and groaned while their son, Ethan yelled words of encouragement from the crowd of spectators. But it was no use! Every time Bertha tried to climb up onto his back, Ned felt his knees buckling under her weight and finally he collapsed onto the ground with a deflated moan.

Bertha was beginning to get frustrated with her husband's lack of strength. But she was also very eager to participate in the race...

"Screw this! Let me show you how it's done Ned!" The large corpse lady scoffed, grabbing her husband by the wrist and yanking him to his feet effortlessly. Before Ned knew what was happening, Bertha slung him over her own back with a grunt and took off after the other competitors like a charging elephant.

Much to everyone's surprise, Bertha could put on quite an impressive turn of speed when she wanted to! Motivated by the sound of Ethan's ecstatic voice cheering her on from the sidelines, she managed to not only catch up with the other couples, but also _overtake_ most of them! Pretty soon, she was closing in on the werewolf couple, who were currently leading the race and with only a few yards left to go to the finish line, Bertha felt confident that she could win this! As they weaved their way through the pumpkins and pools of stagnant water strewn around the muddy course, Bertha saw the finish line up ahead and she put on one final burst of speed. It was time to make that mangy werewolf couple eat her dust! Victory was hers and she was so close now, she could practically taste it…

But just then, the werewolves deployed a sneaky tactic! Realizing they weren't going to beat Bertha like this, Wolf Man decided to go down on all fours and was delighted to discover that he could run a lot faster that way in oppose to running on his hind legs like he usually did! What's more, his wife could now reach the ground with her paws too and with her help, the werewolf couple soon shot past Bertha and Ned with triumphant howls.

But Bertha wasn't about to go down without a fight! As the cunning canines raced past her, she noticed their new strategy and yelled loudly in protest. "Hey! That's cheating! They're using _eight_ legs!"

Understandably, Wolf Man and his wife were not happy at having their trick exposed and risk disqualification when they were so close to winning the race. They snarled angrily at Bertha and began snapping at her heels in an attempt to slow her down. The werewolves weren't actually trying to harm Bertha (although their sharp teeth were certainly more than capable of inflicting some serious damage!) They just wanted to intimidate the stubborn corpse enough that she might back off and let them win the contest!

Their tactic seemed to be working as Bertha shied away from their snapping jaws, allowing them to pull ahead of her once more. But just as the werewolves were about to cross the finish line in victory, their strategy backfired in a totally unexpected way…

Bertha had been so distracted with trying to avoid their ferocious teeth that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going anymore. Unfortunately, there was a huge pumpkin directly in her path and by the time Bertha saw it, it was too late to get out of the way! With a startled cry, Bertha tripped over the pumpkin and fell to the ground heavily. The watching crowd gasped in amazement as the momentum of her fall catapulted her husband, Ned over her head and across the finish line, followed by the stunned werewolves and a pair of confused zombies who shuffled their way into third place.

The crowd held their breaths uncertainly as Ned groaned and lifted his head from the ground a few seconds later. He spat out a mouthful of mud and looked around slowly, his partially-decomposed brain struggling to comprehend what had just happened. He thought he heard some hushed murmurs from the spectators before his wife's unmistakable shout of triumph coming from behind him jolted him out of his daze. He turned in the direction of her voice and blinked in alarm as he saw her barreling towards him like a tidal wave of dead muscle and blubber, a huge smile plastered across her round flabby face.

"We won Ned! I told you we had this contest in the bag!" Bertha yelled joyfully as she scooped her husband into a rib-busting hug.

But not everyone agreed. The four Vampire Brothers who had been acting as referees for the race announced that the corpse couple had to be disqualified because they'd broken the most important rule of the competition…

"We are terribly sorry Ms. Bertha. But since this was a _Wife_ _Carrying_ contest, your husband was supposed to carry you, not the other way round…" One of the Brothers pointed out apologetically.

Bertha shook her head at the Vampires disbelievingly. "But you all saw that he couldn't do it!" She jabbed a fat finger at her husband and stated accusingly, "It's not my fault that he's such a weakling!"

Ned looked down at his feet and sighed glumly. He knew his wife was right. But still, hearing her say it in front of everyone like that was pretty hurtful…

But Bertha was so miffed at being disqualified that she couldn't have cared less about his feelings right now! She turned her frustration on the werewolf couple and glared at them reproachfully. "What about them then?! If you're going to disqualify us, then I think you ought to disqualify them too! They cheated!"

The werewolves growled at Bertha threateningly. But to their utter dismay, the Vampire Brothers agreed with the audacious corpse!

"Yes, we are aware of that my lady and we _shall_ be disqualifying the werewolves as well." The youngest of the four Brothers announced regretfully. He turned his attention to the fuming werewolf couple and shrugged his shoulders at them dismissively. "The rules clearly stated that competitors were allowed to use two or four legs only."

The werewolves snarled in protest. But in the end they were forced to concede defeat as Jack threatened to put them in the doghouse if they didn't behave themselves. Neither of the werewolves really knew what that meant, but they decided that it sounded like a pretty bad punishment. Especially when Jack had been the one to suggest it…

With the top two finishing couples both disqualified on the grounds of cheating, the four Vampire Brothers unanimously decided that the rightful winners of the Wife Carrying Competition were the third-placed zombie couple.

"They ran a fair and clean race tonight. Unlike some of our other competitors…" The oldest Vampire Brother said whilst shooting the corpse and werewolf couples a disapproving glare respectively.

Bertha turned on the winning couple and scrutinized them with undisguised contempt. _"Clean_ my ass! Look at them! They're drooling brainless oafs!" She turned to her husband and grabbed him by the hand roughly, grumbling loudly enough for everyone around them to hear. "Come on Ned! I'm starving after all that running around for nothing! Let's hit the food stalls again!"

Ned didn't say anything as he allowed his wife to drag him back in the direction of Town Square. He knew better than to argue with Bertha when she was hungry (which happened to be _most_ of the time…)

Ethan called for his mother to wait up. He was feeling hungry again too and eagerly followed his parents back to the food stalls, telling his mom that she'll always be a champion to him. This seemed to lift Bertha's mood considerably and she picked up her chubby child and hoisted him onto her shoulders to his utter delight. Ethan absolutely loved it when his mom or dad let him ride on their shoulders! It made him feel tall and important. Just like Jack!

As the corpse family disappeared from view, the Mayor proclaimed the victorious zombie couple Halloween Town's inaugural Wife Carrying Champions and presented them with a trophy crafted by Harlequin Demon; the most skilled artisan in Town. Jack and Sally exchanged a quick look and burst out laughing as the zombies, who looked as confused and clueless as always, accepted their prize while the remaining spectators erupted into applause and congratulated them good-naturedly.

With the Wife Carrying contest over, the enthusiastic crowd made their way to Town Hall to watch the Snake Wrestling Championship. All the chairs that normally occupied the center of the vast Hall had been moved aside and a makeshift fighting ring was set up in the middle of the room. A gigantic serpent was already slithering around the arena and hissing with agitation as the curious spectators filed into the Hall and marveled at the impressive scene before them.

Gradually, a hush fell over the crowd as the overhead spotlight was switched on and Lucius the Devil strolled onto the stage at the back of the Hall. He had volunteered to act as referee for the Snake Wrestling match this evening and flashed his trademark sinister grin at the audience as they gave him their eager attention.

Lucius thanked them all for coming and promised they were in for a real treat tonight. They'd managed to find the largest, most foul-tempered snake in Halloween Town and both of this evening's brave contestants believed they had what it took to wrestle the formidable serpent into submission! Lucius waved his arm dramatically towards the back of the stage and the watching crowd erupted into applause as the first contender, Behemoth, lumbered into view and made his way over to the fighting ring. Then at Lucius' signal, Behemoth clambered into the ring and the match began!

The two combatants eyed one another contemplatively, each daring the other to make the first move. Eventually, the huge snake decided that Behemoth looked like a potentially decent meal and quick as a flash, it lunged forward and coiled itself around him, catching the dimwitted monster off-guard! Behemoth let out a startled moan and began straining to free himself from the serpent's grip as he felt it squeezing him tighter with its coils. Even though Behemoth was one of the largest and strongest monsters in Town, he soon realized that he may have met his match! This particular snake was enormous (even bigger than the one that had tried to swallow a Christmas tree last year when Jack had decided to try to take over Sandy Claws' job!)

The spectators urged on their champion and cheered raucously as Behemoth finally managed to free one arm from the giant constrictor's coils and reached for the axe that was embedded in his head with a grunt. If only he could dislodge it, he might be able to use it to his advantage somehow…

With a final groan of effort, Behemoth succeeded in pulling the axe free. The snake looked up at its opponent and hissed in alarm as Behemoth swung his axe and smacked the serpent on the head with the blunt end of his weapon. The giant snake shook its head groggily and uncoiled itself from Behemoth, its forked tongue hanging out of its mouth limply as it uttered a dazed hiss. The crowd applauded and cheered while Behemoth stood in the center of the ring and stared at his axe blankly. He was prone to experiencing delayed reactions and prolonged lapses of concentration most of the time. But without his axe embedded in his skull, he felt even more confused and lost than usual…

The snake meanwhile had recovered from its slight concussion and was feeling angrier than ever! It noticed Behemoth's current spaced-out state and took the opportunity to exact some revenge on its opponent! Hissing in fury, the serpent lashed out with its powerful tail and smacked Behemoth across the chest, sending him stumbling clumsily out of the ring and face-first onto the floor in front of the stunned spectators. Everyone began muttering to one another anxiously as Behemoth lay on the ground unresponsively for several seconds. Then slowly, he lifted his head and looked around in bewilderment and they all let out a collective sigh of relief.

Behemoth instinctively reached up with one hand and felt the top of his head for his axe. Realizing it wasn't there, he looked around frantically and saw it lying on the floor a few feet away. He promptly retrieved his axe and examined it briefly before plunging the blade into his head again. As soon as the axe was comfortably embedded in his brain once more, the fog of confusion that had settled over him lifted slightly and Behemoth was able think more clearly again. He looked around and it didn't take him long to realize that he'd lost the wrestling match since the snake had thrown him out of the ring.

Oh well. At least he'd tried! As he stood up to leave, the spectators congratulated him on his valiant effort and slapped him on the back in praise as he lumbered past them. A few minutes later, Lucius called in the next contender and The Man under the Stairs took his position in the ring with the giant snake. A respectable hush fell over the crowd once more as the two opponents sized each other up and the next round began!

Unlike Behemoth, who had tried to win with brute strength, The Man under the Stairs opted to use a different strategy… cunning! Being part snake himself meant that he knew a thing or two about how to subdue a volatile serpent and surely enough, his tactic proved to be highly effective! The Man under the Stairs waited for the giant snake to start coiling itself around him. Then using his fingers, which were made of small snakes themselves, he began tickling the giant constrictor all over its body, his snake fingers licking the big serpent's coils with their miniature forked tongues unrelentingly.

The giant snake let out a long hiss of pleasure and collapsed to the floor limply. The Man under the Stairs kept tickling his opponent relentlessly and pretty soon, he'd rendered the giant serpent comatose as it passed out from overstimulation!

The spectators applauded and cheered as Lucius stepped into the ring and congratulated The Man under the Stairs on his win, wisely opting not to shake the victor's hand after witnessing how he'd used those snaky fingers to defeat the biggest, meanest serpent Halloween Town had ever seen! Instead, the devil gave The Man under the Stairs a toothy grin of appraisal and officially crowned him the Town's undisputed Snake Wrestling Champion!

The Man under the Stairs bowed his head and blushed a little from the generous praise he was receiving from everyone who'd come to offer him support in this contest. Although he was one of the most fearsome-looking inhabitants of Halloween Town, he had always been a rather modest monster and was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the unconditional show of support from the delighted crowd!

The citizens of Halloween Town continued celebrating long into the night. The festival had turned out to be a monumental success and everyone agreed that it was _almost_ as much fun as Halloween itself! Once the final activities of the evening drew to a close, the jubilant monsters filed back into Town Hall while the Mayor prepared to make a special announcement.

"Attention all citizens of Halloween Town!" The Mayor spoke into his megaphone as one by one, all the monsters gathered in front of the stage and waited expectantly to hear what he had to say.

The Mayor shuffled some papers that he was holding and cleared his throat before continuing in a cheerful tone. "At the beginning of tonight's festival, each one of you were asked to cast a secret vote as to which two citizens of our terrifying Town you think should receive the titles of _Queen of Hearts_ and _King of Kind_ at the end of the evening!" He looked up from his papers and smiled excitedly at the anticipatory crowd before him. "I have the results right here and I am ready to announce the two winners you've chosen for the coveted titles…"

"Just say it already!" Someone yelled from the back of the crowd and everyone else burst out laughing at the remark.

The Mayor's angry face swiveled around briefly and he frowned in mild annoyance. "Yes. Ahem…" He took a deep breath and switched back to his happy face. "Our new _Queen of Hearts_ as unanimously voted by you, is Sally!"

The Mayor turned to look at the ragdoll, who was blushing uncontrollably and offered her an appreciative smile. "I personally can't think of anyone else more deserving for the title! After all, Sally was the one who came up with the idea for this wonderful festival and thanks to her tireless organization and planning, we were all able to have a great time in what has truly been an unforgettable celebration tonight!"

Sally felt herself blushing even more deeply from the Mayor's generous praise. She smiled shyly and began picking at the stitches in her left arm absently as everyone erupted into deafening applause around her.

"All hail Queen Sally!" They cheered enthusiastically.

Excited talking broke out in the crowd of monsters as they congratulated Sally and told her about some of their favorite moments from tonight's festival. No one seemed to notice Bertha lingering at the back of the room, waving her handheld fan in her face aloofly and muttering under her breath in protest.

Or so it appeared…

Shock was the only one in the room to hear the defiant corpse's complaints. The little witch was standing near the back of the room, bored out of her brain from listening to the Mayor's lame speech and the fact that there wasn't anything remotely interesting to do in this stupid Hall! Her two younger cohorts weren't doing anything to alleviate her boredom either! Barrel seemed to be just as eager to talk to Sally about the festival as everyone else was for some reason, while Lock had apparently pulled another one of his disappearing acts and snuck off to who knew where while no one was looking. That left Shock on her own and she was trying to think of a way to amuse herself when she heard Bertha protesting behind her.

"How can it possibly be a unanimous vote when I personally voted for _myself?!"_ Bertha mumbled under her breath bitterly.

Shock grinned to herself wickedly as she remembered the small piece of paper she'd hidden under her hat earlier after sneaking into the Mayor's office and tampering with the ballot bin. The little witch cackled softly as she took off her hat and retrieved the piece of paper. She quickly folded the ballot into a paper plane and using a marker pen she swiped from a nearby table, wrote the name "Bertha" on the paper airplane's wing. Then she hid behind the table and threw the paper plane at her intended target, stifling a small laugh as she watched it sail through the air and lodge itself in Bertha's left ear!

The corpse woman uttered a gasp of surprise and nearly dropped her stupid handheld fan as she pulled the paper plane out of her ear angrily. She looked down at the partially mangled paper plane in her hand with an expression of utter disgust, then noticed her name written on it and unfolded it quickly, her eyes widening in disbelief when she realized what it was…

"I'll be damned! Someone took my vote out of the ballot bin!" Bertha whispered in a stunned voice that almost made Shock laugh out loud and give away her hiding place. She'd found a way to amuse herself after all!

"Attention everyone! It's time to reveal who won the title of _King of Kind!"_ The Mayor announced into his megaphone excitedly and the room went silent as all the monsters listened in rapt anticipation once more.

The Mayor looked at Jack, who was standing next to Sally in the front row of the audience and the politician's grin stretched from ear-to-ear in approval. "It gives me great pleasure to inform you all that Jack has been elected as this evening's _King of Kind!_ It seems that every last one of us agrees that our very own Pumpkin King is highly deserving of this new title!"

The Mayor motioned for Jack to join him onstage with a wave of his arm. Then he turned to face the crowd and proclaimed reverently, "All to hail Jack Skellington! Pumpkin King and _King of Kind_ from now till eternity!"

Jack smiled appreciatively at his fellow Townspeople and bowed regally as a chorus of cheers and applause signified the crowd's undeniable devotion to their King.

With the poll to determine the festival's _Queen of Hearts_ and _King of Kind_ officially decided, the Mayor suggested that they should celebrate with some more fun! Several of the Town's residents helped bring out all the ladders that had been stacked against the far wall this morning and pretty soon they'd arranged them to form a sort of corridor in the middle of the Hall. Then the musicians from the Halloween Town Band took their positions on stage and started playing haunting melodies as everyone began dancing under the ladders.

Jack turned to Sally and offered her his hand in an unmistakable invitation to dance. "May I have this dance, my Queen?"

Sally smiled back at the Pumpkin King shyly and gently slipped her hand into his. "Oh Jack! I'd love to." But even as she said it, Sally felt herself blushing and she quickly averted her gaze to the floor before adding, "But you don't have to call me that. I'm not really a Queen…"

Jack smiled at her adoringly as he led her to the dancefloor. "If you insist, my love. But just so you know, you were already the Queen of _my_ Heart long before the others decided to give you the title tonight!"

They joined the other inhabitants of Halloween Town and danced together underneath the canopy of ladders in the center of the room. Jack looked at all the happy monsters dancing around them and smiled to himself proudly as he thought, _"We sure know how to put on a spectacular monster show!"_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Whew! Maybe I should have named this one "Monster Chapter" instead of "Monster Show" XD. If you're still reading this note after that whopper of a chapter, then I'd like to say congratulations! Aside from the length, I really hope you guys enjoyed reading about this festival! I tried to include as many minor characters from the movie in this as possible and mention them by name (at least the ones that** _ **have**_ **names!) Anyway, writing about all these characters was really fun and I hope I was able to do justice by them :)**

 **Okay. I know this is already way too long, but I'd just like to give a HUGE thank you to everyone for reading and a special thanks to the following reviewers:**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– You're definitely on to something in regards to that tiny sliver of Dr. Finkelstein's brain that was left in Marie's head! Exactly what it is though, you'll have to wait and see, my friend ;) That's also an interesting point you've raised about the emotional aspect of Dr. Fink's brain and maybe I can shed a little light on that in the next chapter :)** **Thank you so much for your wonderful, _wonderful_ support my friend! It is always a pleasure receiving feedback from you and I definitely intend to keep writing well into the future :)**

 _ **Hannah Melissa**_ **– Thank you my friend! I agree that the Trio would probably want to try to bring Marie back if they knew what happened (they seem to have grown rather fond of her ever since she helped resurrect their old master!) But I suppose the Doctor would have a better understanding of how to accomplish it since he'd created her and all. Then again, poor Fink really doesn't have much of a choice since he's stuck between a rock and a lovesick (and potentially dangerous) Boogeyman… :)**

 **In addition to the reviewers, I'd also like to give a big shout out to** _ **Spitfire52,**_ _ **Ladynoir4Life208**_ **and** _ **Imsy92**_ **for choosing to favorite/and or follow this story! Thanks for the support guys! It really means a lot :)**

 **Thanks again to everyone for reading and I hope you stick around for more chapters (I promise they won't be as massive as this one!)**

 **Svinorita.**


	15. Puppet Show

**Chapter 15 – Puppet Show.**

The festival finally drew to a close in the early hours of the morning. The night air was cool and crisp, the moon hidden behind a veil of clouds by the time the Town's inhabitants decided to call it a night. One by one, they thanked Sally again for giving them the opportunity to enjoy such a thrilling and memorable night of celebrations. Then they slowly made their way home and retired to their beds for some much-needed rest after all that excitement and fun.

Jack and Sally were among the last ones to leave Town Square after the majority of the festivalgoers had already gone home. The newly crowned _Queen of Hearts_ _and King of Kind_ stayed and offered to help the Mayor clean up the mess strewn around Town Hall and the surrounding courtyard as a result of the epic food fight that had broken out earlier in the evening. But the Mayor assured them there was no need since Helgamine and Zeldaborn had already volunteered to help. Being witches, they always carried their brooms with them wherever they went, something the Mayor pointed out was very convenient right now as he and the witch sisters got to work cleaning the area.

"Why don't you two head home and get some rest? It's been a long, excitement-filled night and you both look pretty tired." The Mayor said to Jack and Sally with a reassuring smile. "The witches and I will have this place looking spick and span by dawn…"

"Yeah, if you stop standing around and actually start helping us clean!" Helgamine muttered under her breath sarcastically. Her younger sister; Zeldaborn cackled in agreement as she began sweeping some smashed pumpkin remains into a pile with her broom.

Soon, Jack and Sally left the Mayor and the witches to their cleaning. Both were silently reflecting on the festival as they walked through the dark eerie streets on their way home. Jack seemed happy and content all evening. But Sally was still feeling a bit anxious. Doctor Finkelstein and Marie hadn't shown up to the festival at all and Sally was beginning to grow more concerned about their uncharacteristic absence by the minute.

Finally, the ragdoll couldn't stand it any longer. She reached for Jack's hand and pulled him to a stop a few streets away from the Doctor's residence. Jack turned and looked at her with surprise as Sally asked him in a hesitant whisper, "Could we swing by the Observatory on our way home, Jack? Maybe we should check on the Doctor and Marie? You know, if the lights are still on and they aren't sleeping…"

Jack stifled a tired yawn and sighed in resignation. "Okay. If it will make you happy, my love…"

The Pumpkin King gave her a hopeful smile and quickly added, "Or we could go home, rest our weary bones and visit them in the morning instead?"

Sally gave him a shocked look. "Jack! You promised we'd check on them if they didn't turn up during the festival!" She reminded him with a sense of growing urgency. "Besides, it _is_ morning!"

Jack nodded tiredly and agreed reluctantly. "You're right, my love. I _did_ promise didn't I? Tell you what, if the lights are on inside like you said, we'll take a quick look and check whether everything's alright."

As they started making their way briskly down the street towards the Observatory, Jack was silently hoping that the lights would _not_ be on when they got there. Unfortunately, a faint orange glow was clearly visible in one of the windows on the second floor as they approached the old building and Jack groaned inwardly at the sight.

" _Oh well. I guess not all wishes can come true…"_ Jack thought dismally as he and Sally walked up to the Doctor's front door. The Pumpkin King took a deep breath and knocked on the door half-heartedly. He knew the Doctor well enough to assume that he probably wouldn't appreciate being disturbed at 2 in the morning…

Jack turned to Sally and shrugged apologetically. "Well we tried, my love. Let's come back after sunrise and maybe catch the Doctor in a less-cranky mood…"

But before he could even finish the thought, they both heard Doctor Finkelstein's grouchy old voice shouting from within the Observatory. "The door is open!"

Sally opened the door and hesitantly stepped into the cavernous front room with Jack right behind her. They climbed the spiraling ramp that led to the second floor and found the old Doctor waiting for them outside the entrance to his laboratory.

"Ah! Jack! It's nice to see you, my boy!" Doctor Finkelstein called out in an unusually cheerful tone as he greeted the Pumpkin King. Then he noticed Sally standing nervously behind Jack and the old scientist's voice turned slightly accusatory. "Well, well! If it isn't that restless creation of mine; Sally! I see she's finally found it in her heart to visit her poor old creator!"

Sally felt a stab of guilt at the Doctor's words and quickly averted her eyes to the floor in shame. "I'm so sorry! I should have visited sooner…" She began apologizing anxiously.

Thankfully, Jack sensed her discomfort and mercifully diverted the Doctor's attention away from her.

"Forgive us for disturbing you at such a late hour Doctor, but we just wanted to check that everything is alright here. We noticed that you didn't attend the festival tonight and Sally and I became quite concerned about your absence. We thought that you'd want to join the rest of the Town in the celebrations and have some fun…" Jack leaned forward as he spoke and raised his brow at the Doctor questioningly.

"We also hadn't seen Marie all night and since she offered up so many ideas for the activities tonight, we expected she'd be among the first ones to appear at the beginning of the festival." Jack paused and glanced back at Sally. He saw that her expression was grim and she was picking at the stitches in her arm the way she tended to when she was really nervous.

Jack turned his attention back to the Doctor and added in a bitter tone, "Correct me if I'm wrong Doctor, but it seems that Marie has been somewhat busier than usual lately?"

Doctor Finkelstein was quiet for a moment as he regarded the Pumpkin King with a brooding thoughtfulness. Finally, the old scientist waved his arm dismissively and stated with a healthy dose of grumpy sarcasm, "Well my boy, you should know by now that I don't do fun." The Doctor said the word _"fun"_ as though he found the whole concept utterly repulsive. The corner of his mouth turned up in a sneer of contempt as he added, "Having fun seems like a complete waste of time! I'd rather use the time I still have left to create something meaningful and extraordinary!"

"As for Marie... let's just say she has a bit of a _headache_ right now. Maybe even some _stiffness_ in her shoulders." Doctor Finkelstein said with a devious chuckle.

Sally raised her hands to her mouth in shock. "Oh no! Is she alright?! Maybe I could give her a head and shoulder massage if she'll let me see her…" She asked her creator shakily.

"I'm sure you can my dear!" Doctor Finkelstein agreed with a teasing smirk. "What would you like Igor to bring you first? Her head or shoulders?!"

Sally stared at her creator with a horrified expression. "What happened to Marie?!" She demanded on the verge of panic.

Even Jack looked concerned by now. The Pumpkin King's eye sockets searched the Doctor's wrinkled old face imploringly. "Tell us what happened Doctor." He prompted worriedly.

Doctor Finkelstein gave a deep sigh of regret. "Well Jack and my dear creation, sometimes when you choose to surround yourself with bad company, bad things can happen to you. And it appears that lately, Marie has been spending _a lot_ of time with one of the worst inhabitants in Town… that stinking, good-for-nothing Oogie Boogie!"

The Doctor gestured to the door leading to Marie's room down the hall and explained in a deadpan voice, "I believe Marie and Oogie had a bit of a scuffle earlier and somehow her head ended up under the guillotine when that big dumb oaf pulled the execution chord."

Doctor Finkelstein suddenly chuckled to himself before adding sarcastically, "Now Marie resembles one of those ancient Greek statues with various body parts missing!"

Sally shook her head in disbelief and started crying to herself softly. "Oh! That's awful! Poor, poor Marie…"

"Yes. That was very unfortunate…" Jack replied a bit more hesitantly. He gave the Doctor a questioning look and ventured, "So what now Doctor? What are you going to do with her body?"

"Jack!" Sally objected. Her expression was aghast as she looked at the Pumpkin King with pleading, tear-filled eyes.

Jack felt a pang of regret at seeing her so distraught and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, my love. I didn't mean to sound so insensitive." He hadn't meant any disrespect by the question. He just wanted to know what the Doctor intended to do with Marie now that she was dead…

Fortunately, Doctor Finkelstein seemed to understand and didn't take offence to Jack's question. He leaned forward in his wheelchair and answered in his usual standoffish tone of voice. "Well my boy, you wouldn't believe it, but that vile Boogeyman requested that I put Marie back together for him! He wants her to be his personal idol and claims that he'll worship and treasure her forever… or some nonsense garbage like that!"

"Wait! Are you saying that you can bring her back to life?" Sally asked in a shaky voice. "Will she still be the same as she was before the incident? I mean…"

"Hang on a minute Sal!" Jack interrupted, waving his skeletal hands in a time-out gesture. He looked at the Doctor uncertainly. "Doctor. Is it really a good idea to resurrect Marie? I don't know whether you are aware of this, but she was planning to dispose of some of us earlier! Myself and Sally for sure…"

The Pumpkin King shot Sally an apologetic look before turning back to the Doctor and admitting solemnly, "And it pains me to have to tell you this old friend, but it seems that she had _you_ marked for execution too!"

Doctor Finkelstein nodded grimly as he listened to Jack's dire warning. The old scientist shrugged and gazed in the direction of Marie's room absently, as though he could see through the closed door and the pink guillotine that sat in the cold dark room beyond.

"Don't worry Jack. I am aware of a lot more than people give me credit for." The Doctor said quietly. A knowing smile flashed across his face briefly as he craned his neck up at Jack and Sally and spoke decisively. "Regardless, I _will_ restore Marie because that stinking Boogeyman won't leave me in peace until I do. Marie is going to find out soon enough that death doesn't have to be final. Some fates are even worse than death!"

Jack and Sally looked at one another in surprise. But before either of them could think of an appropriate thing to say, the Doctor continued speaking with the same level of stubborn, directness as ever. "Now, to answer Sally's question: of course Marie will never be the same! I will glue her head back on with my special new adhesive gel. But there will be some visible scarring on her neck…"

The Doctor paused and tapped his chin thoughtfully. Finally he shrugged and dismissed the thought casually. "I suppose the scars can be covered up with a bit of jewelry. Anyway, I took back the half of my brain I gave her before because she obviously doesn't deserve it!"

Doctor Finkelstein smiled to himself wickedly as he stated, "That's too bad for her because without my brain, she will be unable to move or speak on her own! She will retain a certain level of consciousness, but she's going to be practically a puppet!"

A diabolical chuckle escaped from the old Doctor's throat and he pointed out mercilessly, "She's going to have big, smelly Boogeyman arms all over her for much of the time I imagine and there's nothing she'll be able to do about it! I can assure you _that_ fate is much worse than death!"

"That's horrible!" Sally exclaimed with a shocked expression.

Doctor Finkelstein narrowed his eye at his creation reproachfully. "Well you silly girl, not everyone gets to be as lucky as you! You left me for Jack and Marie left me for Oogie, so it serves her right!"

Sally shrank back from the coldness in her creator's voice. She knew the old Doctor wasn't evil. He was just constantly grumpy and bitter! Not to mention highly prone to saying really nasty things sometimes…

Jack knew this too and he quickly tried to diffuse the tension by changing the subject. "So… are you suggesting that Marie will be nothing more than a toy, Doctor?"

"Not quite." Doctor Finkelstein said with a sly grin. "I _did_ mention that she will retain some consciousness because as I was removing my brain from her head, I couldn't for the dear life of me pry out a tiny piece of the frontal lobe that had become deeply wedged inside her skull! As it turns out, that particular part of the brain is responsible for controlling an individual's personality and emotions."

The Doctor turned his attention to Sally and the ragdoll couldn't help feeling as though the old man was directing these next words specifically at her. "I'm sure you've heard of the saying 'don't bite the hand that feeds you.' Well I have my own version of that: _don't disappoint and abandon the brain that created you!"_

Sally cast her gaze to the floor. She still felt an enormous sense of guilt for leaving her creator and knew she'd probably never get over it. Especially since the Doctor went to the trouble to remind her of it every chance he got!

All of a sudden, Sally felt Jack's reassuring hand around her shoulder. He pulled her closer to him and gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. That's when Sally knew in her heart that she had made the right decision…

Sally slowly met her creator's scornful gaze as he continued his tirade. "As I was saying, since Marie still has a tiny piece of my brain, she's capable of experiencing some of my own emotions from time to time and as you know, I am not a very joyful person. I have no fear…" The Doctor tapped the armrest on his wheelchair for emphasis and carried on with a touch of self-pity. "I've already been through _everything_ you could possibly imagine, so I really have nothing left to be afraid of! Feeling sad and crying over your problems is a waste of time too if you ask me…"

"On the other hand, I have no shortage of anger! Especially when some of my projects don't turn out the way I expected…" The old scientist declared whilst aiming another accusing look in Sally's direction.

Sally flinched instinctively at the harshness in her creator's voice again. But the Doctor deliberately chose to ignore her discomfort and persisted ranting stubbornly. "I also abhor stupidity and there's certainly no shortage of that in Oogie's case! He wants me to install a voice recorder in Marie so that she'll be able to talk, or rather _repeat_ a few dumb phrases for him!" The Doctor's top lip curled up into a sneer of disgust as he scoffed, "I don't even want to think about some of the words of wisdom Oogie would like to have Marie say to him over and over…"

Sally was looking terribly distraught by this whole conversation. The ragdoll trembled with grief after learning of Marie's awful fate and not even Jack's compassionate arm around her shoulder was able to offer her much comfort anymore.

Doctor Finkelstein either didn't notice or simply didn't care about the distress his words had caused his former creation. Instead, the old man leaned forward in his wheelchair and asked her in a sarcastic tone, "Would you like to see your sister creation before you leave, Sally dear?"

Jack felt Sally's shoulders tense up under his bony fingertips. "I don't think that's necessary Doctor." He said in a weary voice. "Sally and I really should be leaving now. We're both tired from the festival and I'm sure getting some rest would do you a lot of good too old friend."

"Suit yourselves." The Doctor replied dismissively. "I still have some work to do before I can call it a night! Tomorrow I'll be extremely busy with my new restoration project, so I'd greatly appreciate it if no one disturbs me for a few days..."

"As you wish Doctor. Take all the time you need." Jack said with as much courtesy as he could manage given his tiredness and the Doctor's obnoxious attitude towards Sally throughout this visit.

"Excellent. Ta-ta for now!" Doctor Finkelstein said with a teasing smile. The old man turned his wheelchair around and wheeled himself into his lab, leaving Jack and Sally to show themselves out the front door.

Jack gave a resigned sigh as he led a shaken Sally out of the Observatory. "Don't worry Sal. The Doctor may be difficult to reason with at times, but he means well and deep down he still cares about you dearly."

Sally brushed a tear from her eye and looked up at Jack's bony face as he offered her a reassuring skeletal grin. "Oh Jack! I know he'd never do anything to intentionally hurt me, but he can be so nasty and spiteful! I'm so glad I left him when I did because had I stayed with him, I feel as though I'd never be entirely able to let my guard down around him!"

Sally shook her head sadly as her thoughts turned to her sister creation and the terrible fate that lies in store for her once the Doctor manages to put her back together. "Poor Marie…" Sally sniffled dismally.

Jack regarded the grieving ragdoll with a mixture of wonder and pity. "My dear Sally! You're always seeing the good in everybody and empathizing with their pain…" Jack gently took both of Sally's hands in his own and gazed into her tear-streaked face with pure adoration. His voice was filled with regret as he whispered to her quietly, "But try to understand Sal. Marie was _not_ good! If she had gotten her way like she wanted, many of us would not be here right now!"

Jack lowered his gaze to the ground and shook his head glumly. "I don't want to say that she got what she deserved, but she chose her path and the consequences were self-destructive and could only have ended in disaster one way or another." Jack looked back over his shoulder at the Doctor's Observatory, looming silent and dark behind them. "You know what they say: Marie made her bed, now she can lie in it."

Up in his lab, Doctor Finkelstein sat by the window and watched Jack and Sally walking away into the night until he could no longer see them. Then he turned back to his workbench and resumed tinkering with the small voice recorder he had started putting together earlier in the day. He intended to connect the recorder to Marie's existing vocal chords so that her voice would sound exactly the same as it did before. But her new speech capacity will be limited to a few sentences stored in the recorder, which Doctor Finkelstein had requested Oogie to provide him with once the device was ready…

A short time after Jack and Sally had left, the Doctor was once again disturbed by some very loud banging at his front door.

"Oh for crying out loud! Can't a frail old man get any peace and quiet in this Town?!" Doctor Finkelstein growled moodily as he threw down his tools and wheeled himself to the hallway angrily.

The knocking seemed to grow louder and more persistent by the second. The Doctor stopped at the top of the ramp and yelled over the din irritably. "I can hear you! I may be old, but I'm not deaf! Stop bashing my door in and either show yourself in, or go back to hell!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Okay guys. I can officially say that there's two more chapters to go before we reach the end of this story! I'm a little sad to see it end soon because I seriously had A LOT of fun writing this story!** **But you know what they say: all good things must come to an end… (I know I used quite a few sayings throughout this chapter, LOL!)**

 **Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading this story so far! I hope you guys are enjoying it and that you decide to stick around for the final two chapters and find out how it all ends for our damsel in distress and her big smelly, prince not-so-charming :D**

 **Just before I wrap up this note, I'd like to give a HUGE thankyou to** _ **Tripledent**_ **for that lovely review to the previous chapter :)** **Thank you so much my friend! I know that last one was really long and filled with so many unusual characters, but I'm thrilled that you thought I wrote it well :D** **I know you were curious about the emotional aspect of Doctor Finkelstein's character (especially since he has a habit of moving his brain around!) and I hope I was able to shed some light on that in this chapter! My dear friend, I'd like to dedicate that little emotional reference to you :)**

 **See you all in the next chapter guys :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	16. Words of Wisdom?

**Chapter 16 – Words of Wisdom?**

"Show yourself in or go back to hell!" Doctor Finkelstein repeated irritably as the loud banging at his front door persisted. The old scientist wheeled himself up to the railing that encircled the steep ramp at the end of the hall and looked over the side at the foyer below, his lips drawn back in a very unwelcoming grimace of contempt. Everyone in Town knew that the Doctor had a notoriously short fuse and the fact that he'd been disturbed from his work _twice_ tonight really didn't help to improve his volatile temper!

"To hell with that stinking Boogeyman and I hope he stays there forever!" The old scientist grumbled under his breath bitterly. He'd already guessed the identity of his latest visitor since only Oogie could be daft enough to knock so persistently at an unlocked door! Right on cue, the door was thrown open so forcefully that the Doctor feared it would be knocked off its hinges as Oogie barged into the room looking very excited.

"What do you want now?!" Doctor Finkelstein snapped grumpily from the top of the ramp as the Boogeyman halted in the middle of the foyer and looked around in confusion. Oogie glanced in the direction of the old man's voice and grinned widely in greeting.

"There you are Doctor!" He called out as he charged up the ramp, nearly tripping over his burlap feet in his haste to reach Doctor Finkelstein. "I've been up all night thinking about those phrases for my angel and I can't wait to show them to you!"

Before the Doctor had time to react, Oogie shoved a rolled-up piece of paper into his hand. The old man struggled to open the scroll with his stiff arthritic fingers. When he finally succeeded, he was alarmed to discover a list so long, that the page stretched for several feet across the floor as it unraveled from his trembling hands!

"What in the name of Halloween is this?!" Doctor Finkelstein demanded disbelievingly. His mouth hung open in shock as he regarded Oogie quizzically. "I told you to write down a few sentences and instead you've presented me with a list as long as _War and Peace!"_

"Or should I say, _Crime and Punishment_ …?" The Doctor mumbled under his breath sarcastically.

Oogie however, wasn't deterred by the old man's reaction in the slightest. The Boogeyman shrugged uncomprehendingly. "Oh no Doctor! You won't find anything about war or punishment on there! Only pure love!" He offered helpfully.

"Let's get one thing straight here Oogie…" The Doctor began in an authoritative tone as he wheeled himself into his lab, trailing the list behind him while Oogie followed a little uncertainly.

Once they were inside the laboratory, Doctor Finkelstein gestured towards the small recording device he'd been working on earlier and explained to his dumbfounded guest sternly. "This voice recorder is only a prototype. The storage capacity is quite small so we'll be able to record five or six phrases on it at most."

Oogie's face dropped with disappointment at hearing this and the Doctor actually felt a twinge of pity for the disheartened Boogeyman. He sighed and added with a bit more optimism, "Eventually, Marie might be able to construct some shorter sentences on her own since she still has a tiny remnant of my brain and therefore a limited amount of consciousness."

The Doctor leaned forward in his chair and stated with a knowing grin, "In other words, she'll probably have a vocabulary range similar to Igor's. Meaning she might occasionally say simple things like ' _Yes', 'No'_ or _'Argh!"_

The old scientist smiled to himself smugly. "Maybe even ' _Damn!'_ or ' _Hey!'_ every now and then…"

Oogie rubbed his hands together eagerly at this potential prospect. "Great! Does that mean she'll call me ' _Master',_ just like Igor does to you?!"

Doctor Finkelstein gave a snort of amusement. "Well, that sounds like a bit of a long-shot knowing Marie…" The old scientist turned his attention to the list in his hands and sighed reluctantly. "I still have some work to do on the voice recorder, but since you're so eager to show me these phrases, I might as well look through them and try to pick out some of the more sensible ones…"

" _I highly doubt there are any, but here goes nothing…"_ The Doctor thought to himself sourly as he adjusted his glasses and began reading through Oogie's list of phrases.

"Okay. Let's see what we have here…" Doctor Finkelstein looked at the first sentence on the list and furrowed his brow in confusion. _"I have supplies?"_

The old scientist gave Oogie a questioning look. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Let me see that." Oogie said with an equally puzzled expression. He snatched the list out of Doctor Finkelstein's hand and looked at the sentence himself. "Oh! I meant, _I have a surprise!"_

The Doctor rolled his eyes as the Boogeyman handed the list back to him. "Okay. Next one…"

" _I'm pity for you?"_ The Doctor read out loud. He smirked and regarded the Boogeyman thoughtfully. "That one sounds sort of appropriate."

"But are you sure that's what you want Marie to say to you?" He ventured skeptically.

"Let me see that!" Oogie grumbled irritably as he snatched the list out of the Doctor's hands again and scrutinized the second sentence carefully. "That's supposed to say, _I'm pretty for you."_ The Boogeyman corrected with a sheepish grin.

Doctor Finkelstein decided to keep his opinions to himself as Oogie gave him back the list. He quickly read out the next sentence. _"I am a warm man."_

The Doctor looked at Oogie quizzically. "Really?" He chuckled with a doubtful expression.

Oogie growled in annoyance and nearly tore the list in half as he snatched it roughly out of the smirking old man's hands for a third time. "I meant, _I am a warm woman!"_ He corrected, fixing the Doctor with an angry glare. "You're criticizing everything I wrote, Old Man! Can't you read properly?!"

"Oh don't worry son! I can read just fine." Doctor Finkelstein assured with a smug grin. He waved a finger in Oogie's face disapprovingly and scoffed, "The problem here, is that you can't spell!"

Oogie placed his hands on his hips and loomed over the old scientist imposingly. "Well now! I may be a humble Boogeyman and perhaps I'm not quite as smart as you. I don't have glasses or a scientific mind like yours…" Oogie leaned forward so that his menacing burlap face was only inches away from the Doctor's. He drew his lips back in an angry sneer and grumbled matter-of-factly, "But I'm nowhere near as stupid as that hunchbacked pet of yours; Igor!"

Doctor Finkelstein nearly gagged as the Boogeyman's rancid breath filled his nostrils. "Well perhaps you're not quite as dimwitted as Igor, but you're far from being a genius like me!" He coughed as the Boogeyman stepped back and frowned at him contemptuously.

The Doctor glared back at Oogie reproachfully. "I can also assure you that the glasses have nothing to do with it. You can't spell properly and that's the simple truth!"

"Anyway, moving on…" The Doctor mumbled standoffishly as he proceeded to read the next phrase on the list.

" _I love your manly muscles! When I stroke them, I have no hassles."_ Doctor Finkelstein was not one to laugh often. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he felt like laughing! But now he registered a slight tickling sensation in the back of his throat as he tried to picture Marie saying something as stupid as that…

Oogie gave the Doctor a threatening look. He didn't see what was so funny about that phrase and he was seriously beginning to lose his patience with this infuriating old fool!

Doctor Finkelstein flinched from the harshness of the Boogeyman's stare and cleared his throat nervously. "Ahem! Let's move on to the next one shall we…"

He took a deep breath and read the next sentence on the list. _"I am the lady of this house and I'll be as quiet as a mouse."_

The Doctor looked at Oogie with puzzled expression.

"Okay. Okay. We can discard that one. It was Shock's idea…" Oogie pointed out gruffly.

The Doctor raised his brow with suspicion as he read out the next phrase. _"I want to eat! Give me some meat!"_

"Oh please! This is getting better and better!" Doctor Finkelstein snorted with laughter.

Oogie growled with frustration. "Alright. Get rid of that one too. It was Barrel's suggestion! That greedy little ghoul always has food on his mind..."

Doctor Finkelstein turned back to the list and gave a bemused grunt as he read the next sentence. _"Why do we need this plastic dummy? She looks and smells funny!"_

Oogie was getting furious by now. "Damn that Lock! When I get home, I'm going to beat that little devil black and green! How dare he say something like that about my angel?!"

Doctor Finkelstein folded the list and handed it back to Oogie with a sigh. "Here's the deal Oogie. If you want me to fix Marie as soon as possible, I really need to get some rest. I'm a very frail old man and I won't be able to get much work done without a decent night's sleep."

Oogie looked like he wanted to argue. But before he got a chance to protest, the Doctor wheeled himself over to the door and pushed it open, making it quite clear to Oogie that he wanted him to leave right now.

"You go on home and look through your list carefully. Think about which phrases sound the best to you and that you'd like to hear Marie say the most. Then try to narrow it down to five or six phrases that we can fit onto the voice recorder." Doctor Finkelstein instructed sternly.

He gave the Boogeyman a contemplative look and added as an afterthought, "Though you won't be winning any spelling contests anytime soon, I have heard rumors that you are one of the best cooks in Town. So I'd greatly appreciate it if you could hurry up with that snake and spider stew you promised to make me earlier."

Oogie was not happy with this decision one bit. But what choice did he have? He wanted to have Marie back more than anything else he'd ever longed for before and this stubborn, grumpy old man was the only one who could help him with that! As much as Oogie was tempted to open his mouth really wide and silence that nagging old fool permanently with one satisfying gulp, he knew he had to restrain himself or else Marie would be lost to him forever!

With a resigned sigh and a wistful glance at the Doctor, Oogie made his way reluctantly towards the door, taking his list of phrases with him just as Doctor Finkelstein had ordered him to. But on his way out, the Boogeyman spied Marie's severed head on the Doctor's worktable and he took a moment to pick it up and kiss his angel on the forehead lovingly.

"Don't worry my angel. Pretty soon you'll be whole again and then we'll be together forever." Oogie whispered affectionately.

The Boogeyman placed Marie's head back down on the table and left the room without another word. Doctor Finkelstein wheeled himself up to the railing in the hallway so he could make sure that Oogie really left the Observatory, closing the door to his lab out of habit as he went. Neither he nor Oogie noticed Marie's eyes roll slightly in her head as the laboratory door clanged shut, the color appearing to drain from her cheeks and momentarily making her look as gray as a corpse...

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I decided to write this short chapter because I thought it would be entertaining to explore some of the possible phrases Oogie (and the Trio!) might come up with for Marie and to see the Doctor's reaction to some of the more absurd ones, XD. I hope you guys enjoyed it and maybe even got a laugh out of some of these phrases :D**

 **In the final chapter, we'll get to see which phrases Marie will ultimately get stuck with (but I can assure you that it won't be any of the ones mentioned in this chapter!) These were what I refer to as the "rejected phrases" and I included them purely for entertainment value because I imagine that Oogie would get a little carried away when he was compiling his list...**

 **I hope you guys decide to stick around for the final chapter and thank you to all the silent readers who have stuck by me so far :)**

 **I'd also like to give a massive THANK YOU to** _ **Tripledent**_ **for your wonderful feedback as always :)** **I'm always happy to incorporate your thoughts and suggestions into my stories whenever I see a possibility to fit them in! As you saw, Marie already seems to be at least partially aware of what's going on around her and I have a feeling that given the bleak future she's facing, she'll be treasuring those memories of her life before the accident more than any piece of jewelry she ever owned… :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	17. Happily Ever After

**Chapter 17 – Happily Ever After.**

Oogie Boogie could not remember the last time he had slept. It might have been three or four days. Or perhaps it was three or four _weeks?_ He'd completely lost count ever since that fateful day with the guillotine in Doctor Finkelstein's Observatory…

But none of it really mattered to the Boogeyman. Today he was on the most important mission in his entire existence and he was ready to see it through to the end! His beloved angel was being put back together by Doctor Finkelstein and Oogie couldn't wait to have her safely back in his arms! He decided that a day and a half should be more than enough time for the Doctor to set everything back in working order. Now he just needed to give the Doctor his "revised" list of phrases so he could make her speak once again. Then Marie will finally be ready to go home with him and they could begin their new life together!

But Oogie hadn't been idle while he waited for the Doctor to finish working on Marie. He'd finally gone ahead and cooked up a batch of his famous snake and spider stew to show his appreciation to the old Doctor for agreeing to restore his angel for him. Oogie hoped the offering of stew would make Doctor Finkelstein more compliant in his task. So he'd prepared a very generous, extra thick and slimy serving especially for the grumpy old scientist, refusing to share any of it with Lock, Shock and Barrel – much to the Trio's absolute dismay as snake and spider stew happened to be one of their favorite meals!

Now Oogie stood in front of the Doctor's Observatory with a large pot of stew in one hand and a big rolled-up sheet of paper in the other. He was also facing a bit of a dilemma… how to knock on the door when both his hands were full? The Boogeyman gave a low growl of frustration. He was contemplating whether he should beat his head against the door or kick it with his foot…

But before he could decide, he heard Doctor Finkelstein's distinct, grouchy voice coming from inside the old building. "Don't bother to knock. I already know you're here! I can smell you through the door!"

Oogie let out a sigh of relief and took extra care not to spill any of the stew or drop his list as he pushed the door open with his elbow and stepped inside. But as he walked through the doorway, he tripped over something long and sparkly that had been placed right near the front entrance. With a startled groan, Oogie dropped his roll of paper instinctively as he brought his other hand up and tried to prevent his pot of stew from spilling all over the floor. There was a familiar slicing sound and Oogie saw that his list had been cut in half by Marie's guillotine. Apparently, the sparkly thing he'd tripped over was the bejeweled execution chord and the Boogeyman felt a shudder roll through him as he stared at it with dread. He couldn't believe he had nearly run into that horrid pink contraption again!

The Boogeyman heard Doctor Finkelstein chuckling from his position at the top of the ramp and he shot him a look of contempt.

"Well if that list is what I think it is, then the guillotine probably narrowed it down to the amount of phrases we need!" The Doctor remarked sarcastically.

Oogie let out a growl of indignity. "Is this your idea of a joke Old Man?!" He gestured to the guillotine angrily and grumbled, "Are you trying to get rid of me or something?!"

"Oh no! Not at all!" Doctor Finkelstein assured him in between snorts of laughter. "After I give you Marie, I think it won't be only me, but the whole Town that's going to be rid of you! I imagine you're going to be too busy spending every moment of your time with your precious doll to be much of a bother to any of us anytime soon!"

Oogie cradled the pot of stew in one hand and thrust his chest out with pride. "That's absolutely true Old Man! No one is more important or deserving of my attention than my precious angel!" As he spoke, Oogie saw the guillotine's blade glinting ominously out of the corner of his eye and he frowned with increasing annoyance. "What's the deal with this wretched thing anyway? If you weren't setting a trap for me, then why'd you leave it near the door in the first place?"

Doctor Finkelstein rolled his shoulders in a dismissive shrug. "Well, I assumed that you might want to take it with you? I built it because Marie requested it as a gift for her birthday and it was one of her most prized possessions up until her demise."

The Doctor let out a teasing chuckle and added cynically, "I thought she might like to admire her reflection in the shiny blade every now and then. She always loved looking at herself in the mirror and admiring her beauty…"

Oogie gazed at his own reflection in the guillotine's cruel blade and shook his head vigorously. "Oh no, no, no! I don't want that evil thing anywhere near my angel!"

"Really?" Doctor Finkelstein asked flatly. "Well that's a shame, because I don't want it either and now I need to find another way to dispose of it…"

Oogie tapped his chin with the tip of one burlap hand and thought hard for a moment. "Perhaps you should give it to those witches… what are their names again? Helgamine and Zeldaborn?"

Doctor Finkelstein nodded and stared at Oogie curiously as the Boogeyman continued helpfully. "They're always cooking up potions and preparing spells for their nightly witch gatherings right? So maybe they could use it to chop up their ingredients more efficiently or something? Maybe they can even trim the old worn-out ends off their brooms with it…"

Doctor Finkelstein clapped his hands in exaggerated approval. "What a splendid idea Oogie! I must admit it was best one I ever heard coming from your mouth!"

Suddenly, the Doctor sniffed the air and held up his hand to silence the Boogeyman before he had a chance to comment. "Say, what is that wonderful aroma I smell in here? It certainly isn't you!"

Oogie bit back an insult and forced a grin as held out the pot of stew to the obnoxious old man. "Well, I made you some snake and spider stew like I promised."

"Mmm…" Doctor Finkelstein inhaled the delicious scent deeply as he wheeled himself down the ramp to claim his long-anticipated meal. Oogie handed him the pot of stew and the Doctor accepted it hungrily. "You can go on up to my lab if you like and take a look at Marie. I've fixed her up real nice, so feel free to admire her while I sample your fine cooking!"

Oogie felt a surge of excitement flow through him at the prospect of seeing his angel back in one piece again. "Oh thank you Doctor! You won't be disappointed with the stew, I promise! It is my reward to you for all the hard work you've put into fixing up my angel!"

Doctor Finkelstein grunted and gave the Boogeyman a sidelong look. "Hey! Don't think this is the last time you'll be cooking for me! Just so we're clear, you're going to have to bring Marie back here for regular servicing and maintenance."

Oogie stared at the Doctor in stunned silence. He was pretty sure the old man hadn't mentioned anything about servicing and maintenance before…

Doctor Finkelstein nodded and licked his lips expectantly. "Oh cheer up son! Nothing is for free these days you know!"

As the Doctor wheeled himself off to his room to eat his stew, Oogie mumbled under his breath bitterly. "I hope you choke on it, Old Fool!"

Then the Boogeyman made his way to the lab to see Marie. He found her strapped down to the Doctor's operating table and he started walking over to her excitedly. He was elated to see that her head had been re-attached to her body and even from halfway across the room, Oogie thought she looked as beautiful as ever! But suddenly, an alarming realization dawned on the Boogeyman and he stopped in his tracks. He quickly turned back to the door and called over his shoulder in a panic-stricken voice.

"Oh Doctor! Please eat carefully, don't choke! You still have to make my angel talk!"

XXX

Doctor Finkelstein entered his lab a few minutes later, licking his lips in satisfaction. Oogie sure knows how to cook! That snake and spider stew was the best thing the old Doctor had tasted in a long time…

As he wheeled himself into the laboratory and closed the door behind him, he saw that Oogie was hovering around Marie just as he'd expected and he couldn't help smiling wickedly at the sight. The Doctor had left the operating table that Marie was lying on in a semi-elevated position so he could reach her more easily from his wheelchair while he'd been working on her earlier. Consequently, he could see his hapless creation's facial expression very clearly from across the room as Oogie stood beside the raised operating platform and showered Marie with his unconditional affection.

The Boogeyman was gently stroking Marie's blonde hair with one hand and kissing (more like _slobbering_ ) all over the top of her head in a gesture of pure love. Doctor Finkelstein noted that the poor creation's face looked ashen gray and her eyes were darting from side to side like someone in the midst of a fit!

Oogie looked up as the Doctor approached them with a sadistic smirk on his face. The Boogeyman grinned at the old scientist with gratitude. "Oh thank you Doctor! You've put my angel back together so well! She's perfect!"

Oogie glanced back at Marie's ashen face and furrowed his brow with slight concern before adding, "She does appear to be a little off-color…"

The Boogeyman smiled encouragingly at the mortified creation and quickly dismissed the issue. "But I'm sure that all the love I have in store for her will have her looking as rosy as a flower in no time!"

"Yes. I'm sure she's looking forward to that…" Doctor Finkelstein replied sarcastically.

Oogie nodded enthusiastically. He gave Marie another look of pure adoration before stepping towards the Doctor and offering him what remained of his list of phrases.

"The first thing I want you put into my angel's voice recorder is her new name." Oogie announced excitedly.

Doctor Finkelstein stared at the Boogeyman in disbelief. "What?! Another one?!" The old scientist waved his arm in Marie's direction and scoffed, "There are creatures in this Town that don't change their _underwear_ as often as she changes her name!"

Oogie opened his mouth to protest. But the Doctor held up a hand to silence him and continued speaking authoritatively. "Are you really sure you want to give her a new name? Because I believe she already picked a perfectly suitable name for herself…"

"What do you mean?" Oogie interrupted with mild annoyance.

Doctor Finkelstein glanced at his creation and shook his head in wonder. "You see, when I first created her, I named her _Precious Jewel._ But then she came up to me one day and announced out of the blue that she wanted to change her name to _Marie._ I was against it at first, but later I did some research on the name and I was stunned by what I discovered! She could not have chosen a more fitting name for herself!"

A sly grin spread across the old man's face as he leaned forward in his chair and said in a low voice, "It turns out that Marie is originally a French name and it means _bitterness."_

Without warning, the Doctor threw back his head and let out a shrill cackle that made Oogie flinch in surprise. "That name was perfect for her before and I believe it is even more so now!"

Oogie looked over at his beautiful angel and shook his head adamantly. "No, no! Her name needs to be changed! Marie is dead…" He took a menacing step towards the Doctor and put his hands on his hips imposingly.

Doctor Finkelstein stopped laughing abruptly and shrank back in his chair a little as the Boogeyman loomed over him formidably. "Her new name is _Angel!_ "

"So put this phrase onto her recorder right now: _My name is Angel!"_ Oogie demanded decisively.

The Doctor shrugged and reached into the small cavity he'd left open at the base of Marie's neck so he could program the sentences Oogie requested onto the voice recorder. He'd already implanted the small recording device into Marie's throat and could easily sew the opening shut as soon as he finished entering all the phrases onto the recorder.

"Okay. We'll test out this one and _only_ this one!" Doctor Finkelstein said as he finished programming the first sentence onto the recorder. "Otherwise we'll probably be here for weeks and I am a frail old man who needs his rest!" He reminded Oogie edgily.

Oogie nodded and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He was finally going to hear his Angel's beautiful voice again! He'd been looking forward to this moment for so long…

Oogie and the Doctor both held their breaths and waited as "Angel" shuddered on the operating table and opened her mouth like a fish out of water. At first no sound came from the blonde creation at all and Oogie felt his hopes beginning to fade. He was about to say something very nasty to the Doctor (maybe even devour him right then and there out of frustration!)

But all of a sudden, "Angel" blinked and her eyes seemed to be staring directly at Oogie as she yelled in a shrill, screeching voice, "My name is An- _argh!"_

Oogie gasped and looked at the Doctor apprehensively. Before either of them could say anything, the creation formerly known as Marie startled them both by shouting, "My name is _Damn_ Angel!"

Oogie shook his head worriedly. "There's something wrong Doctor! Why did she say _damn?!_ I didn't request _damn!"_

"Incredible!" Doctor Finkelstein stared at his creation with unmistakable admiration. His voice sounded filled with wonder as he explained, "Do you remember what I told you before about the possibility that Mari…"

"I mean _Angel…"_ The Doctor corrected himself quickly. "That she might eventually develop the ability to say some shorter words of her own conscious will?"

Oogie gave the old scientist a questioning look and the Doctor shook his head in amazement. "You must understand that she is not totally mindless. She does still have a tiny piece of my brain after all and she may feel obliged to express her emotions every now and then…"

"Like she just demonstrated by blurting out _Argh_ and _Damn_ when I did not program those words onto her voice recorder!" Doctor Finkelstein concluded proudly.

Oogie narrowed his eye at the old man skeptically. "Can't you do something about that?"

"Even with my genius brain, I can't make something that's imperfect completely perfect." The Doctor said regrettably. He tilted his head slightly to one side and regarded Oogie with barely concealed contempt.

"So here is how it's going to be…" He nodded towards Angel and stated, "You either take her as she is. Or else leave her here and don't bother me about the subject ever again!"

"I'll take her as she is!" Oogie said without hesitation. He looked at the blonde creation still lying on the operating table and smiled at her adoringly. "She's perfect to me! Even if you say she's imperfect…"

"Very well then. Give me the next phrase so we can get this over with sometime today." Doctor Finkelstein snapped impatiently. He gave Oogie a stern look and reminded him in an icy tone, "Like I said we won't test out any more sentences now! I'll program them onto the recorder and you can test them out in your own time!"

"That's fine by me." Oogie grumbled under his breath tartly. He exhaled loudly and offered up the next sentence on his list. "The next phrase is: _I love you Oogie Boogie Man."_

Doctor Finkelstein smirked but didn't say anything as he programed the sentence onto Angel's voice recorder. "Done. What's the next one?"

" _You sing like an angel to your Angel, and that's the truth baby truthfully!"_ Oogie read out proudly.

Doctor Finkelstein snorted loudly in amusement and Oogie shot him an irritated look. "Hey! What's so funny Old Man?!"

"Well Oogie. We all know that you can sing very well." The Doctor regarded the Boogeyman with a quizzical expression and ventured uncertainly, "But _that's the truth baby truthfully?!"_

Oogie let out a deep growl of warning. "Do you know how long it took me to come up with that phrase?! I am very proud of it!" He stated defensively. "So just do your job Old Man and make her say it!"

Doctor Finkelstein nodded reluctantly. "Alright. As you wish…" But even as he was entering the phrase onto Angel's voice recorder the old scientist knew deep down that someday, these phrases were going to backfire on that stinking Boogeyman spectacularly! He also had a feeling that Angel was seriously regretting her decision to hold onto that tiny piece of his brain right now!

" _If Angel had known she was going to be forced to repeat these stupid phrases for the rest of her life, I think she'd prefer to be completely brainless!"_ The Doctor thought to himself with an evil grin.

"Okay, it's done." Doctor Finkelstein mumbled as he finished programming the sentence onto the recorder. "We only have room for two more phrases, so choose wisely!" He shot a leering look at Oogie and pointed to Angel with a gloved hand as he added, "Any more than that might cause her to short-circuit and I doubt even _I_ would be able to put her back together again should that occur."

"That's kind of unfair…" Oogie grumbled with a disappointed sigh. He'd spent so much time and effort coming up with all these phrases for his angel and now he was being told that he could only pick two more! But if what the Doctor had just said was true, Oogie knew he couldn't risk jeopardizing Angel's safety for the sake of some phrases. No matter how heartfelt and passionate they were…

"You're right. I can't risk losing her again!" Oogie admitted grimly. He looked down at Angel and smiled with affection before turning his attention back to the Doctor. "Here's the next phrase Old Man…"

Oogie read out the sentence from his list in a proud, confident voice. _"My man can cook. My man can sing and Boogie. I don't need no diamonds or rings when I've got Oogie."_

Doctor Finkelstein raised his brow at the Boogeyman questioningly. "Are you sure about this one? I thought we already covered the singing in the previous phrase?"

"I am more than sure!" Oogie bellowed defiantly. He puffed out his chest proudly and stated, "That sums up my personality and reminds my angel that everything she could ever want or need is right here!" Oogie thumped a fist against his chest for emphasis.

"If you say so…" Doctor Finkelstein mumbled under his breath sarcastically as he leaned over Angel and started entering the phrase onto her voice recorder. He suddenly felt Angel stiffen beneath his fingertips as he typed the message into the recorder at the base of her throat. Then without warning, the helpless creation started unleashing a barrage of explosive "Damn! Damn! Damn…"

"Don't worry. It's just a glitch." Doctor Finkelstein assured a concerned Oogie without looking up from his work. He made a small adjustment on the recording device and Angel stopped cursing abruptly.

"There. See? Everything is alright." The old scientist smirked as he pulled his hand out of the opening in Angel's neck. He cocked his head at Oogie expectantly. "Let's hear the last one then…"

A huge grin broke out on Oogie's face. "Oh this one is my absolute favorite!" He cleared his throat and read out the final sentence on his list proudly, _"You are so handsome and strong Oogie! Let's kiss all night long!"_

Doctor Finkelstein started coughing in an attempt to disguise his laughter. He hardly ever laughed in his life and it was something he didn't like to do in front of anyone. But he was unable to help himself right now. This was just ridiculously hilarious!

He coughed and snorted with laughter as he finished typing the phrase onto the recorder. Angel however, was not amused one bit. She was unable to move or speak freely on her own, but she still managed to make her feelings known loud and clear all the same! Her face suddenly turned as red as a freshly exploded volcano and she unleashed one long demonic-sounding, **"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

Doctor Finkelstein looked at his creation with a mixture of admiration and sympathy. "Oh look! There's another new conscious exclamation! I'd say she's progressing quite nicely."

"What do you mean nicely?" Oogie protested irritably. "I didn't like that _'No'_ one bit! Can't you get rid of it and make her say _'Yes'_ instead?" He asked the Doctor with a disconcerted frown.

"Sorry, but I can't control those small conscious outbursts. I didn't program them onto the recorder. They are words of her own choosing." Doctor Finkelstein explained with an apologetic shrug. He looked at Angel thoughtfully for a moment before glancing up at Oogie and offering doubtfully, "You never know. Angel might warm up to her new lifestyle after a while and someday that _'No'_ might turn into a _Yes…"_

"Oh you can bet your laboratory on that Old Man! After spending a few days in my tender loving care, she will be singing _'Yes'_ like a bird!" Oogie said boastfully. He frowned and gave the snickering Doctor an impatient look. "Are we done here? I can't wait to take my Angel home so we can begin our new lives together!"

"You may leave just as soon as I've sewn up the opening in her throat." Doctor Finkelstein commented with his usual grumpy sarcasm.

Oogie stood nearby and watched as the Doctor took out a long sewing needle and some black thread and began suturing shut the hole at the base of Angel's neck. When he was finished, the old man pressed a button on the underside of the operating table that lowered it back into a horizontal position and released the heavy-duty restraints that had been keeping Angel strapped to the table during the procedure.

"There! You can go now. But watch the guillotine on your way out!" Doctor Finkelstein said drily.

Oogie almost squealed with delight as he scooped Angel gently into his arms and held her close. "Let's go home my beautiful Angel." He whispered into her ear softly and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek.

Angel's head was resting on the Boogeyman's big burlap shoulder as he turned and started carrying her out of the lab. Doctor Finkelstein waved from his wheelchair, his eyes briefly locking with his creation's wide, pleading ones as he said, "Bye, bye my Precious Jewel/Marie/Angel! Have fun with your new life!"

Angel's eyes grew even wider with horror and she unleashed another long despairing, "Noooooooo!"

Oogie paused at the door and tapped the mortified creation on the back gently. Angel's eyes took on an angry look. "Moron!" She shouted resentfully.

Oogie sighed and shifted her in his arms so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "Moron is a bad word my Angel. Repeat after me: _Darling."_ The Boogeyman said encouragingly.

Angel pursed her lips together tightly and refused to say anything more. Instead she continued glaring at the Boogeyman spitefully as he carried her out of the Observatory and headed slowly towards the Treehouse on the outskirts of Town. Along the way, Oogie glanced up at the full moon that hung in the night sky overhead and grinned as he saw his shadow staring down at him. Being the Boogeyman meant that he was capable of detaching his shadow at will and sending it off to scare humans while they slept at night. But most of the time, Oogie's shadow could be found right here in Halloween Town like a ghostly silhouette on the moon, ever vigilant as it watched the goings-on in Town until Oogie decided to summon it back to his side.

The Boogeyman was literally able to be in two places at once, something no other monster could do and right now as he stood there looking up at his own shadow on the moon, he thought about the irony of it all: If Jack Skellington hadn't defeated him that night they fought in his lair last Christmas Eve, he and Angel would probably have never had crossed paths. She had come along and resurrected him because she'd _needed_ him and in a sense, Oogie had returned the favor by convincing the Doctor to put her back together for him! Oogie didn't usually believe in things like fate or destiny, but he knew now without a doubt that he and Angel were simply meant to be together one way or another! Their lives were forever intertwined and that thought made Oogie's heart sing with joy!

"From now on, Oogie Boogie is going to live happily ever after!" The Boogeyman promised his shadow sincerely. He gave Angel a loving kiss on the side of her head and started dancing with her in the moonlight, his shadow watching and smiling down on them in approval from the heavens above.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Thank you to EVERYONE who has been reading this story from beginning to end! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you :)** **I thought I'd make a reference to Oogie's shadow right at the end because I feel like it's such a unique and fascinating ability that he has! We see only a brief glimpse of this in the movie during the "This is Halloween" opening song but I think it's really interesting regardless…**

 **I'd also like to give another huge THANK YOU to** _ **Tripledent**_ **for the wonderful feedback :)** **I'm glad you enjoyed those phrases in the previous chapter and thank you so much for sticking around and seeing this story through from the beginning! I hope you decide to check out my future stories and it's always a pleasure receiving reviews from you, my friend :)**

 **Thank you once again to all the silent readers from around the world for coming on this journey with me! I will be starting on a new story shortly (a Christmas-themed one since it's that time of the year!) and hopefully it will turn out to be as much fun as this one was :D**

 **Svinorita.**


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